Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Party Planning: The Lazy Way

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Taken at Explorer Kidz a few weeks ago. 

Besides the few weekday play dates I organized at Go Go Bambini, the only other times they got to go to an indoor playground in the last year were on weekends with E if they were invited for friends' birthday parties. Usually I had to teach, so the dad had the sole honour to chaperone.

After attending so many parties with the kids, E finally insisted that we throw parties for the boys at similar venues this year.

I was hesitant at first. But now that we have fixed a date for Baby O's arrival, I decided to brave it and we went ahead with a very last minute confirmation for M's party. 

M decided on the invite list. We just have to pack the party bags and order the cake that the boy has requested for. And hope that Baby O remains baking till we are done with the party.

Next up is Chip's party which should take place right after my confinement. 

From next year on, there will be 5 birthdays and a wedding anniversary to celebrate within the 8-weeks period. :> 







Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Bags and Bump




When I was lugging shopping bags all around town on my own last weekend, it dawned on me that it could possibly be the last shopping trip I made as a preggie woman. 

I was sort of amused by my own reflection in the mirror - the bags and bump and all. :>

With a big leap of faith, I finally bought the Ameda Lactaline. With the outstanding things that I needed to get for Baby O more or less settled, I feel a lot more relieved. 

Now, I didn't look this glam while shopping. 

Hmm... maybe I should have tried, on hindsight. :P




Monday, August 29, 2011

I Not Stupid



I have never watched any of Jack Neo's films before, nor paid much attention to them. 

But after watching I Not Stupid on OktoNITE with E last night, I am pleasantly surprised and suitably impressed in so many ways. 

Actually, if E had shown less interest throughout the film last night or hinted any wish to switch channels, I don't think I would have watched it through either because I was under the impression that this film (maybe I was misled by the title) is really just one of those money-making productions to appeal to the heartlanders. 

Surprisingly, E watched the whole film without uttering much. Usually he can't stand the local productions, not because they are locally made but more because of the quality of the cast and/or predictable story-telling. Ok, he couldn't stand Selena Tan, or was it the character that she was casted in? Hmm.... 

I am pleased that he watched it though. Despite living here for close to a decade, he is, after all, from a different culture and I do think it takes more than just time in a country for one to truly appreciate its culture and what makes Singapore and Singaporeans unique. That said, he is rather clairvoyant. The film may not be as tasteful as some of the arty films I like on OktoNITE, but it reflects the Singapore culture well enough, especially the few aspects that are discussed/portrayed in the film. 

I didn't know (until I read from Wikipedia) that the film was inspired by the wonderful, fabulous, beautiful and inspiring Iranian film Children of Heaven! (This has been pointed out by a reader as inaccurate.) I had watched it in the Cathay Picturehouse before and remember it as the first film that truly touched my soul and made my cry buckets in the cinema. 

I Not Stupid has brought back some memories of the time when a few people I know were placed in the EM3 and the stigma associated with it. I also wasn't aware before that this film sparked parliamentary debates which subsequently abolished the EM3 stream. Now, that's meaningful.




Saturday, August 27, 2011

Baby #3: Week 37

I started feeling a lot of braxton hicks this week. Some were really painful.  

Just the other night, I had a vivid dream that my water broke and I was in labour in the middle of the night. My first horrifying thought - I am not ready for her to arrive yet! 

I haven't packed my bag. 

I haven't completed shopping for basic necessities for baby's first weeks. 

Most of baby's clothes are still stored away or unwrapped, let alone washed. 

We have just arranged for the cot to be delivered a few days ago! It still needs to be assembled and furniture in the house needs to be re-arranged to fit everything in.

And the list goes on....  Eeks!  

We are definitely a little *too* relaxed this time round. 

That said, I haven't been idling actually. Besides being busy with wrapping up the outstanding work from the Coaching Bright Minds workshops, I try to be consistent in coaching the kids on the academic front and doing as much as possible before I pop, to give myself more leeway to do minimal coaching or even nothing for the weeks to come. Since I expect to be "out-of-action" for a while during the Term 4 this year, I am relieved that their foundation is strong.

It certainly feels like there is a constant race against time. 

Baby O is approx. 2.9kg. She put on over 300g in the last week, which seems an awful lot! Looks like I have worried for nothing in the few days after she was estimated to be only 1.9kg. Hah! My total weight gain so far is 11 kg. In fact, I've gained more in the last 2 weeks because of my intentional change in diet. 

For the previous two pregnancies, I drank Milo and AnMum almost daily in the last few months. But I didn't take both beverages during this pregnancy. When I realized baby weighed 1.9kg at Week 34, I decided to do a little experiment and resumed consuming one or two cups of Milo daily. Though I can't be sure if the big weight gain has much to do with the sugar and carbs from these beverages, it is too coincidental. I'm going to return to just relying on my power multi-vitamins and supplements. 

Baby O is moving A LOT! I don't remember the two boys being this active in the womb before, especially not at these final weeks. I would usually drop everything that I was doing and watched with amazement and a smile at the way my tummy was being stretched into outrageous shapes. :> 

Less than a fortnight to go! WOW! 

The count down begins..... 


Friday, August 26, 2011

Legitimate Reasons

On cravings and supper...

Hubby: "You have never sent me out to buy you any supper. You know how some husbands are sent out to buy food to satisfy the wives' cravings. For all 3 pregnancies actually."

Me: "Oh yah, that's true. See.. you are so lucky!"

Hubby: "What?! Nooooo! I am unlucky! I WANT to be sent out to buy supper."

Me: "Huh?"

Hubby (in a smaller voice and looking sheepish): "So I can also buy something for myself. I am deprived of such opportunities. And this is my last baby!"  

Wahahaha!!! That made me laugh so hard. 


~~~

On boobs....

"This is the only time when husbands can look at other women's breasts openly and not get scolded by the wives."

Joked the hubby who sat with me one night as I was reading a section on breastfeeding in the one and only pregnancy guide that I own. 

That funny man. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Outer Space: The Fascination Never Stops!

Little Chip has been so passionate about puzzles once again.

During the school holidays, he revisited most of the puzzle sets that we have, either on his own or in the company of an adult. 

Some days, he would complete a few sets that range from 40 to 150 pieces. 

Then one day, he decided to tackle this one that has 200 pieces, meant for age 8+.
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After he completed it the first time in one sitting, he was really proud of himself. The sense of accomplishment must be pretty awesome! Frankly, even I was amazed at his determination and patience.
A few drawings from the last few months that reflected his intense interest on this topic.
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The brothers examining a picture in one of the Tin Tin comics and discussing the contents.
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Chip reproduced this drawing by copying the illustration. 

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New(ish) Reads

I am never a fan of comics, fantasy and science fiction books. Though I don't know any mums who grew up reading these either. I'm always under the impression that these books appeal more to boys. 

So without E, I doubt I would have introduced these genres to the boys. But boys are boys, and daddy should know what little boys like best. :> 

In the last few months, E added some new series to the kids' reading collection. The boys would beg him to read them every night. Though I think they are a little advanced for Chip to read on his own at the moment, he joins in the nightly reading and seems to understand and appreciate the content very well, especially judging from the kind of questions he asks. 

M, on the other hand, is fully capable of appreciating the books. If I allow him to (which I often don't), he can easily devour the entire book in a day. 

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I have not read a page of these books before. Even though we have them lying around the house in the past few months, I still couldn't find the time (or motivation) to pick one up. I figured it isn't necessary for me to be familiar with them since the boys can easily discuss with E. I have enough on my plate. 

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You see, without the dad, I would never have come across this series to even introduce to the boy. This Groo Maiden is really funny but somehow I find the content a tad unsuitable for my innocent boy. Especially with the R(A) illustrations that one can find on almost every page! He even pointed out the revealing outfits of the characters sometime.

While waiting at the OB clinic with me one afternoon last week, M was so engrossed reading his comic that he didn't realize we were surrounded by people. Suddenly, he commented loudly 'Mummy look at this! I can see her boobs and butt in this dress! Haha!'  

A few parents at the waiting area looked up from their magazines and glanced over at us. The woman next to him even peeped curiously into his book. Oops.



Sunday, August 21, 2011

Exquisite. Love.

Just looking at the lustre makes me happy!



Ahh.... once again, the hubby shows he is an expert when it comes to buying the perfect birthday gift for his wifey. 

He got it right AGAIN this year with an exquisite pair of earrings from Mikimoto. 

I suppose he is taking my word very seriously when I suggested starting a legacy for my Baby O. 

*big smile*





Friday, August 19, 2011

Flowers for Mama

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Chip chose a blue rectangular paper, folded it in half and cut out a random shape, so he ended up with this symmetrical shaped vase.
Flowers created with sponge printing. Stems were added with fingers. 

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Overpraising and Underachievement

Before I have my own kids, I remember promising myself not to be like my dad. I was convinced that I must praise my kids often and not to deprive them of such opportunities to boost their self-esteem. I shall be one of those positive and super-encouraging parent. Nothing less.

In the first year or so of being a parent, I uttered a lot of 'wow... well done, baby!'. For the every flip, crawl, step and whatever baby-size achievements my kids produced, there was a staggering amount of exaggerated happiness and heaps of praises.

But over the years, I become more convinced of the great perils of overpraising and its relationship with underachievement.

To begin with, I do have high expectations of my boys and my students in general. Yes, every child has his own pace of learning and I certainly don't expect everyone to be a high achiever. But I do passionately believe that with the right guidance and opportunities, we can help every child unleash his potential.

In almost all the cases that I've encountered of kids with normal learning abilities who are underachieving, a common root cause (gathered from my observations, interactions with the kids and parents) seems to be overpraising. These kids are so used to an environment where overpraising is the norm that they have come to expect it as an entitlement and reward.

When we use praise as a means of encouragement, we must use it very cautiously.

Frequent and often undeserved rewards in the form of praise, deprive a child of motivation and discourage persistence.

It is counter-effective if a child sees praise as a reward to solicit from parents, caregivers and teachers. In fact, it can easily lead to discouragement when the child faces difficulties. Imagine one who needs to be praised at every baby step before she will even try to tackle a challenge.

Some parents think lavishing praises is equivalent to encouraging the child. But in reality, this creates in the child, a dependence on praises for him to feel good about himself and his abilities.

Kids who are overpraised also tend to shy away from activities where their success is less guaranteed (e.g. new activities) and are more worried of failing or losing.

I would rather commend a child for her effort, positive attitude and persistence in tackling a challenge by herself. She is more likely to challenge herself further at the next task and will perform better.

Since I am my kids' main caregiver and I'm the one who coaches them on most things outside their schooling hours, my conscious effort of praising only when praises are due should make significant difference to their learning attitudes.

Results with my students would vary more and this is to be expected. Those whose parents have come to understand the perils of overpraising and learnt to change the ways they encourage and influence their kids tend to see amazing results in their kids' progress in short time. As for the few who persist in their beliefs that their kids just need more encouragement and that I am not praising/encouraging them enough tend to continue to see their kids underperforming.

Within my extended family, there are two mums who tend to overpraise. Not just to their own kids, but mine too. 

MumA will utter 'wah, clever boy!' to every little thing that my boys or her kids do, from being able to recognize a simple 3-letter word, putting on their shoes themselves to completing a craft....  

MumB is also super quick at praising my boys for every little display of achievements. When M came home with some test results one day, she remarked 'wow, you are such a clever boy! I can see you pass your test!' She did it again when he came home with full score for his weekly spelling, telling him 'I'm so impressed with your ability to spell! Clever boy!'

In both cases, I rolled my eyes. Ok, he scored 92/100 for the test which is great, but to praise him for passing his test is really setting the benchmark too low. In fact, I would be livid if he were to just pass his test! When the tests are really simple and/or there are careless mistakes which M has been repeatedly reminded to avoid, I would be careful about lavishing praises without discussing his mistakes, which is exactly what this mum tends to do ('oh don't dent the happiness or discourage him by pointing out his careless mistakes, I am sure he will learn them himself', as she puts it).

I expect him to do well for his weekly spelling. To me, it is his responsibility to ensure that he learns his words, just like how I expect him to complete his homework and brush his teeth. And when he exhibits a sense of responsibility to carry out his 'duties' with appropriate effort and attention, I don't hesitate to praise him for that. 

I know both mums praise out of good intentions but luckily they are not permanent residents in my home. 


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Morning Surprise II

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This was what I found one early morning. He was actually browsing through this encyclopedia on the Universe.

I just had to snap a picture of him all engrossed, and in such an adorable pose. He looked up after the flash went off, in time to see me wearing a big smile on my face. :> 

Just like what I chanced upon almost 4 years ago in the same room

Love it that we have raised two boys who couldn't get enough of books. 


Monday, August 15, 2011

40-year-old Toy

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This was Chip looking into the 40-year-old microscope to examine the specimens. 

The grandma bought it at a car-boot sale over a decade ago for E and his siblings. It is still in pristine condition, neatly packed in its original wooden box. 

It's with us now. Got to admit it is ultra cool to have such a 'toy' at home!  

Oh! Not forgetting the telescope which we also have, and the boys have been using it very often to gaze at the Moon and Jupiter!!  :D 

Lucky boys. 




Friday, August 12, 2011

Laundry and the Boy

M laughed when he read this. 

He thinks it is so silly to be given such a present. Presents should be toys. Something fun. 

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Of course he thinks so. 

Like the kid, my boy just dumps his dirty clothes on the floor, bed or sofa, 5 out of 10 times, despite being told repeatedly to place them in the laundry basket. 

But this mum no longer picks up the clothes from where he has left them and returns them to the drawers magically in a clean, neat pile a few days later. 

This mum nags, when she isn't too tired. 

Sometimes when she is too beat to nag, threats to throw the clothes into the rubbish chute if they aren't picked up within the next 5 min may be uttered. This would usually be followed swiftly by the next threat of never buying new clothes for him again, so if he runs out of clothes, he would have to be naked. 

For now, this tactic has worked.

But it is only a short-term solution. I must be more creative in instilling the sense of responsibility. 



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Issue on HELP

One of the first questions people would ask when they realize I am expecting #3 is: how would I cope?

Would I get a live-in maid or local nanny? How about engaging part-time cleaner or use tingkat catering? Can I count on regular help from family, say, my parents or in-laws?

Even my own mother and siblings asked me the same thing when I first broke the news of the pregnancy to them. Every uncle and auntie in the family was curious about the same.

Almost every relative recommends I get a live-in maid. How can you cope with all 3 kids and do the housework yourself? Why be so hard on yourself?

When they sensed my reluctance, everyone recommended I consider some part-time cleaning help instead. Even a few hours, twice or thrice a week must be helpful.

The truth is, this 'HELP' issue has been on my mind in the last few months. The two questions that I have been asking myself non-stop: 'Can I do it all by myself?' and 'Should I be kinder to myself instead of trying to do it all on my own?'.

Though I know I can do it by myself (if there is a will, there is a way, right?), I also wonder if I should. After all, there are only 24 hrs a day. I'm well aware that by trying to juggle so many balls, I am bound to drop some.

So where are we now on this issue?

Let's start with my confinement. I was hoping to count on my mum to help during the confinement month instead of hiring a confinement nanny, though some friends recommended the latter. I am not comfortable having a stranger in the house just for a month, especially during the month when I feel I am at my most vulnerable. It's just not fun having to recover from a C-sect and be total breast-feeding at the same time.

Since I am not picky about confinement food and practices and I handle the baby myself at night because of total breastfeeding, any help in that month is really about helping to pick up the baby, bathing her and taking care of the needs of the 2 boys. If I have the choice, I still prefer my mum to do these than to have a stranger in our home.

So what about housework? The thing is, a few months ago, I was entertaining the idea of getting live-in help again because I know that is what my hubby really wanted. I was trying to convince myself that even if it is to tide us over for 6 months, it will be some help until I can manage more comfortably. Surely, I am resilient enough to put up with any nonsense from the maid for a few months, if I have to.

So if I do get a maid, the housework should be taken care of. After my mum leaves, I will cope with the maid for as long as she offers more help than trouble.

But the more I thought of the bad experiences I had with my previous maids, the more reluctant I am to take the chance again. I don't think E or his parents ever appreciated how challenging and stressful it was to handle the maid issues in the past. Only those who have to face the maid all day long will fully understand. In the periods when I had to put up with all the shoddy work, crappy attitudes, lies and stress, I often felt I was left alone to 'fight the battles'. E could just ignore the problems in the evening and go to work the next day. Even in the brief period when his parents were staying with us as guests, their actions (giving her presents and money behind my back, befriending and consoling her after she was told off for attitude issues/mistakes etc) showed their inability to empathize with my situation.

So I decided if we could count on my mum-in-law to come for 5 weeks after my mum leaves, then perhaps I don’t need to put up with live-in help at all. By the time my MIL leaves, it will be the school holidays. While it may be a bit chaotic in the day to handle 3 kids myself, I believe I should be able to do it with some planning.

Come January, the boys will return to school and baby will be 4 months old. I should be able to work out a schedule of handling the kids, housework, cooking and coaching the boys myself. And it will only get easier as baby grows. By 2013, Chip will be going to Primary school with M, and it will be just me and baby for half a day.

YES, I CAN DO IT!!!!

By the time I reached this point of the thought process, I was pretty optimistic. Now we just have to count on the two grandmas to nod.

My mum said yes to my suggestion a few weeks ago. Much to my relief.

But we just found out that this plan is not going to work now because we can't count on my mum-in-law to come.

SIGH. DARN!!!

So now, I am back to considering my options.

Sulkingly, that is.


Edited to add: 
I've decided that I will not hire live-in help no matter what and just do what I can after confinement. But it is important to me that I don't lose sight of the priorities (i.e. of spending some quality time and continue coaching the boys). Should I feel that I am overly stretched and turning into a cranky mum, I shall adjust my expectations and reconsider the kind of help I need, so that I can still coach the kids. Most likely, it will be part-time cleaning services, which I currently don't use because of scheduling issues, instead of babysitting or child-minding services.





Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Rags to Riches

Someone once said to me 'rags to riches indicate possibility, but possibility is not the same as probability'. So true.

Two weekends ago, I attended two very different social functions where I had passionate chats with several people about this topic. These experiences only further reinforced my long-standing views of the common factors in families that had consistently produced success stories.

Besides the key qualities to instill in the kids which I shared in details at the recent Coaching Bright Minds workshops, these common factors must have a tremendous effect on the upbringing and shaped the kids' characters and development.

Not long ago, I had a chat with an acquaintance who shared her thoughts on her sons' education. As a supermarket cashier, she works 6 days a week and together with her admin clerk spouse, they need both jobs to make ends meet. On their days off, the parents' priority is not to supervise their kids' schoolwork but to catch up on sleep, do housework or just rest.

She told her boys who are currently in Pri 4 and 5 that they have to depend on themselves to do well. When they face difficulties in their schoolwork, the parents can't coach them, nor can they afford to send them for tuition. They have tried cheap tuition classes offered at community centres before, but stopped soon after because they had better uses for the money. The parents also have low expectations to begin with and are contented as long as their sons pass their PSLE. Well, one of them is now a borderline case.

The stark contrast lies in the other group of people I know personally, who are marching their preschoolers and primary school kids to a long list of classes. Many spent between $1200 and $2000 per child for a few holiday classes during the June holiday. Some of these kids also attend as many as 8 enrichment/tuition classes a week during school terms.

While I don't believe that attending that many classes is necessarily a good thing for the kids, but the fact remains that there is a higher chance for these kids to have a head start or continuous help than those in the other group.

For those who can only depend on themselves, it takes the rare kid who is mature and hardworking enough, to triumph against all odds.

It seems only logical that the child who grows up in a family environment that places emphasis on his education needs has a higher chance of excelling academically, regardless of his innate abilities. In the cases that I've known, those with high-flying careers later on in life all started out with a family that emphasized good education and good schools. Even their grandparents went to good schools and did well in their professional careers.

Whenever I am at this topic, two contrasting examples always come to mind. And I know many others that also fall into these two categories.

A retired grandma, who had a remarkable education and was a successful career woman in her heyday. She married an equally successful doctor and has three kids who are now doing real well professionally.

Another retired grandma who also raised three kids, but had only a few years of formal education because she hated school. Her only career was a part-time job to make ends meet.

When both talked about picking primary schools for their grandchildren, the first insisted that her grandkids must get into good (read: branded) school as a good education lays the solid foundation and it all starts with good schools. Doesn't matter if the child is required to work harder because it will all pay off later. The second grandma didn't really care which school her grandkids go to, as long as it is one that isn't taxing on the kids.

I always find the differences fascinating.

Apparently, there was a study a few years ago that showed Singaporeans whose parents were at the bottom tend to remain at the bottom, while those whose parents were at the top tend to stay there. But I can't find the source.

Food for thought. 

Monday, August 8, 2011

Only for the Pretty One

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Some mornings, he would ask for craft materials to make little projects of his own. 

This particular morning, he decided he wanted to make some pretty flowers for someone really pretty. Needless to say, I was delighted at his sweet thought. 

I quickly obliged with all the colours that he chose and returned to my surfing the NET (have I mentioned before that I am an info junkie?) and morning cuppa. 

30 min later, I went to check on his progress. He was almost done and the flowers looked so colourful. I was just wondering which part of the house I should display it when I heard him mutter 'I hope 老师 would like them'. 

Oh. 

So the someone-really-pretty he had in mind was someone else. Hmm... 

I was almost tempted to dissuade him from bringing the present to school that day, so I could keep it for myself. But of course, I didn't have the heart to do so. 






Saturday, August 6, 2011

Playing the Guitar

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M has been learning to play the guitar. For about 4 months now. 

I think it is really special to learn from the dad. I imagine it would be awesome to be able to look back at his childhood memories decades later and remember that his dad taught him to play the instrument. 

E even bought him a baby guitar just for the lessons. This is, of course, in addition to the one that M already owns as part of his legacy



Friday, August 5, 2011

Taekwondo: the one I never considered

When E first suggested signing M up for taekwondo last year, I didn't take his suggestion seriously. I've never considered martial arts as sport or enrichment option for the boys though I'm aware of its gaining popularity.

I always like the boys to spend more time in sports, but training to excel in a sport requires investment of time and commitment. Instead of letting them dabble in many sport activities and ended up not good in any of them, I wanted to wait it out a little till I am sure they will be able to commit to one or two. Besides, I don't want to schedule too many classes for them in a week, even if they are having fun with them.

After M has settled into his weekly tennis lesson as school CCA and enjoying the sport, the next sport to consider is swimming. But I didn't have much success scouting for potential swim coach/school that will fit our schedule.

Then one day, during a play date with some friends, I noticed to my dismay, how a stick-thin girl was 'attacking' M with very rough moves. They weren't fighting but just playing rough and my gentlemanly boy didn't want to attack back in case of hurting her, so he was simply defending himself by running away. She got more aggressive until I stepped in to distract them.

Perhaps I read too much into it, but I was troubled by what I witnessed.

Two days later, I reconsidered taekwondo and brought the boys in for a trial lesson.

The moment Chip got to the class, he was so excited that he was almost hyperventilating! Haha!

'You mean we can come here to fight?'

'Uh... no baby. Not to fight. But you will learn moves to protect yourself and also it makes you stronger.'

The boys watched with wide-eyed amazement. But over time, I noticed that M was less enthusiastic and refused to even join the trial.

Chip, on the other hand, was sitting by the side of the room and copying all the moves he saw, complete with the loudest 'HAH!' he could summon up. He was just so hilarious to watch.

After some persuasion, M agreed to join and we signed him up for 3 months. 2 weeks later, Chip joined him in the same class.

It has been 2 months and it looks like both boys are enjoying the class. I like it that there are workouts in every session to strengthen their physical fitness, besides learning the techniques. In the process, hopefully, we are also enhancing their social skills, self-confidence and awareness and teaching them about discipline and respect.





Thursday, August 4, 2011

Can't Stop Lusting




Seriously, this lust is getting out of hand.

I have been drooling over a few bags lately. Is it possible that being pregnant makes one crave for more bags? I don't crave for food often, except the occasional thoughts of durian.

But BAGS, oh YESSSsss!!!!   

Can't stop looking at them online.

The thing is, I have so many nice bags already and they still look so new. 

So the level-headed woman in me has been resisting the temptations to head over to the shops. I have also been reminding myself that I don't want to be the typical Singaporean woman who buys one branded bag after another. Though, I probably can already qualify for one since I own a few too. *embarrassed*

Anyway, now it seems certain that I can only drool over this one in particular, and pretty much forget about owning it.

Because I just spotted my neighbour carrying it this week, in this EXACT colour that I like. Hmmph! 





Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Baby #3: Waiting for Her

Every few days, Chip will ask 'how many more days before Baby O is out?' 

Amongst the males in the family, Chip is the one who talks about Baby O more often and seems more excited about seeing her. Even the dad doesn't mention or ask about the baby as much. Hmmph! I tell you, there is a remarkable difference in the way the dad reacts in all my pregnancies. 

With the #1, E would place his head on my belly to listen to baby, whisper to my tummy, and feel my bump and baby's kicks almost nightly. He even sang to baby in the final weeks. 

With #2, the dad was more relaxed already and repeated the above only more frequently in the final weeks. But whenever he heard me say 'baby's kicking', he would place his hands on my belly to 'connect' with baby for minutes each time.

Now for this #3, ahem....  let's just say that I hope he will be more interested when Baby O finally arrives. 

I find myself using this classic example recently whenever friends asked about E's level of excitement on Baby's arrival: 

when I exclaimed 'baby's kicking/moving', my hubby placed one hand on my belly, while the other hand was still holding on to the iPad so he can continue his reading/surfing. 20 seconds later, both hands were back on the iPad. 

~~ 
Week 34: 
Baby O is now approx. 1.9kg. She is a little smaller than the boys were at this same time of gestation, but OB thinks it is no cause for concern and could be just genetic. Girls are usually smaller than boys in the same family, I was told. 

A few months ago, I was informed of the low-lying placenta. Thankfully, it doesn't present any problem now. Up till yesterday, I was still pondering over the possibility of a VBAC, especially since it didn't happen with #2. But after chatting with the OB, we've decided to take his advice and deliver via elective C-sect this time. Oh well, I've gotten over my desire to deliver naturally for once; after all, it is more paramount to opt for a method that is safest for both of us. 

This means, Baby O will be here in about 5 weeks!!  

Honestly, I am so NOT ready for her arrival! But the nesting instinct has kicked in, I think, as I have been fantasizing of clearing out every drawer lately. 

It's about time to get everything ready, especially now that we are so close to confirming her date of birth. (I always feel weird about being the one choosing the birth dates. But it has to be done.)




Monday, August 1, 2011

Cute

I was enjoying a lie-in with Chip a few nights ago. 

As I cuddled and kissed him a lot, and savouring our moments together, we also chatted about Baby O and how much I love the kids and being their mummy etc.. 


Me: Aww... you are so cute! Do you know that?

N: Um.. yes I know. 

Me: Aww...  will you always be so cute? I can't get over how cute you are!! (kissing his cheeks a few more times)

N: But I can't promise, mummy. When I grow up, I won't be cute anymore. That's why I don't want to grow up! (sulking a little and showing a sad face)

Me: That's not true. You will always be cute, even when you are older. Some people are still cute even when they are older, you know. See, is mummy cute? 

N: No, you are not cute. Not cute at all! I told you already. Only small children are cute. Adults are not cute. 

Wahahaha! I pretended to look hurt. Made no difference. 



 

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