Monday, July 29, 2013

The Ram's Horn Squid



The boys found these shells on the beach during our last vacation in Phuket this year.

As usual, M was the most intrigued.

The dad tasked him with an assignment. Some research on the Internet and a meticulous sketch later, the boy's effort was framed.

Now it sits prettily in the study, to be studied by all.



Sunday, July 28, 2013

Kitty Madness


Ever since I started shopping for Bunny (which was when she was still 'baking' in me), I made the conscious effort to avoid buying anything with the Hello Kitty picture or logo. It seems so predictable. Little girls around me are all donning the 'Kitty' from head to toe. So nope, my baby girl shall be different. She was simply not acquainted with the famous Kitty, so there is not an ounce of desire in her to be associated with it.

Then along came the doting Grandma.... who brought an adorable blue stripey Hello Kitty dress as one of the countless presents for the princess when she came visiting in May this year. The dress was kept out of the toddler's sight because it was a little too big for her then.

Two months later, when it finally made its appearance in front of the toddler, it was definitely LOVE at first sight!


She couldn't wear it enough! She wanted to wear it everyday. From morning to night. She wanted to sleep in it.

After lengthy coaxing, she finally allowed me to take it off her to have it washed. The moment it was hung up to dry, she would stand in front of the damp dress to admire the Kitty. 'Mei Mei can wear Kitty again when it is dry?' she would ask pleadingly.

So there, the love affair begins....

Now, she owns a neat collection: a small Kitty softie to cuddle to sleep, Kitty socks, Kitty toy house, cup, toy microphone and another dress for her birthday.

Weeks before her birthday, whenever I headed out on my own, she would tell her daddy that mummy went out to buy her Kitty shoes and earrings! Hahaha....

The shoes may be a possibility, provided I find something of good quality. But the earrings will have to wait.




Saturday, July 20, 2013

Craft: Fuzzy Bee






Her three fuzzy bees, inspired by one of her favourite books back then.

(Photos: July 2013)



Thursday, July 18, 2013

22 Months Chatterbox

At 22 months, my little toddler is a super adorable chatterbox.

























A quick list of the kind of speech we hear around the house in a typical day.


Shall we go outside and eat breakfast? 

I didn't do it! It's not me! (shake her head) 

What about me? What about Bun Bun? I want some too. 

Mei Mei loves to eat watermelon. Mei Mei wants some melon please. 

What happened to the cat? Where did it go? Oh I see it. There it is!

Where does this come from? 

I don't know where it has gone? 

Where are the boys? Oh, they are not here!

Bun Bun wants to play toys with mama. Mummy, let's go play toys.

This belongs to Bun Bun. That one belongs to you. 

I want to draw some more now. I need to get new paper from study, mama. 





Monday, July 15, 2013

Mama School

A few months ago, two mothers I met at Gymboree on separate occasions were surprised to learn of my intention to keep O from school till at least 2015. One was French and another a Singaporean. Both intended to enroll their daughters next year in premium preschools to ensure their girls are not deprived of a well-deserved early childhood education.

I swear one of them gave me a dirty look at some point of our chat, as if I must be some ignorant first-time mother who does not know what to do with my kid. Ok, I did not let on (as I didn't see it as necessary) that I have more mothering experience than she had and I do know a lot more about early childhood education than she probably thought.

Frankly, I could not decide if I was more annoyed or amused by that. Perhaps it was a case of both. In times like this, the condescending part of me that always emerges when I meet fellow parents like her, just had to observe her with her child for a few moments longer than I usually would. I did. Hah. I was very careful not to show my smirk afterwards.

I would have preferred to delay O's formal schooling till 2016, if not for the fact that it will be M's PSLE year. That will be the year she starts Kindergarten 1 (also known as K1) in a typical preschool. But I know I should be prudent and enrol her a few months before that, so that she has adjustment time and I can take a breather to recharge my battery.

Between now and then, we have two years where she will attend only 'Mama School'. 

It is time to organize my resources and introduce some structured learning. The 22 months old is ready for what I have in mind. I am the one who is dragging my feet. 

A few years ago, this routine served us well and I did have many productive days with little Chip in our 'Mama School'. But this will be tweaked to incorporate what experience has taught me.

Most concepts can be much more effectively introduced using the transdisciplinary thematic approach, through the lapbooking activities I have created and accumulated over the years of teaching, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

Even at this tender age, it is easy to spot O's strengths and apparent weaknesses. She seems to have a combination of her brothers' strengths (and they are good at different areas). So fascinating! Just the thought of it gets my adrenalin pumping.

What excites me is not just to play a big role in her learning journey especially in these early years, but to see what we can achieve and where we will get to, in terms of stretching her potential, by the end of the next two years. We were extremely delighted with the boys' development at age 4, so there is every reason to be confident that we will be with O as well.






Rock-A-Bye-Baby


The tot will ask to go to the playground everyday.




Photos: July 2013 @ 22 months

Frankly, after so many years of taking kids to playgrounds, I am bored stiff at the idea and will gladly not set foot near a playground for another 10 years. I am sure I am not the only parent who feels this way.

When I don't feel too lazy, I will take her anyway, to satisfy her little heart's desire for a bit of a dashing about, some climbing and sliding. Usually, the moment we get to a playground, all it takes is to look at how much fun she has and I would instantly feel a sense of accomplishment. Ahh.... I am a good mummy today for making her so happy. It is almost funny to admit it, but I do think that at times, just looking at her smiley face and chirpiness.

Don't get me wrong though; she is a very happy child who laughs easily. She sings and dances all the time in the comfort of home. But there are days when she will sing/hum non-stop and do her little twirling and butt-shaking routine in the playground without a care in the world, in front of staring toddlers and amused adults. The sheer innocence is so precious and just thinking of it brings a big smile to my face.

I wonder if I would remember such happy scenes when I pass by the playgrounds again, years after the kids have left the nest. I hope I would..






Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Moving On

A few more months ago, I made a difficult decision to take a break from doing what I love and passionately believe in, so I can concentrate on other priorities. On hindsight, the timing turned out to be incredibly perfect, especially considering all the unrelated events that occurred after my decision was made.

To cut a long story short, we sold our home in late April and bought a new place within 36 hours. It was rather surreal.

As much as we loved our home, we were seriously running out of space. But we hesitated selling in the last few years as E and I couldn't reach a compromise - we both care about quite different things when it comes to what our next 'perfect' home should be. Until we set our sights on this potential place and were blown away by what we saw and could imagine.

When we first discussed the idea of moving with the boys, they were devastated. They didn't want to call another place home. They insisted they would be fine sharing a room forever and Olivia could move into their room too, so we didn't have to get a bigger place. They even agreed to giving up some books and toys to make space.

The day we inked the deal, Chip (literally) kissed the walls goodbye and M sobbed big time. A few days later, when the reality set in - that we would lose this beautiful place we have been calling home in a matter of weeks - I had to fight the urge to cry too. Though I know we should be celebrating, for we are moving on to an even better place and I am sure the kids will love this new place once they open their hearts to it, there was just so much that I couldn't bear to leave behind. After all, this was the home where I spent days and nights struggling with all my three babies when they were just teeny tiny bundles. They took their first steps and called 'mama' for the first times within these walls. They grew from babies to toddlers and then to preschoolers and more here and the memories were just everywhere. I spent over nine years in this apartment and it has become more than a home to me. Giving it up was tougher than I had imagined but there were more pressing issues to deal with than our emotions then.

I had to look for a suitable place to rent while we wait for our next dream home to be ready. The search was rather stressful, especially since we had to find it within 3 weeks, before we leave for our two vacations in June (which the ever-so-optimistic-hubby had booked back in March). We finally found a reasonable compromise in the last few days and collected the keys a day before we left for Hong Kong with Olivia. The boys stayed behind to enjoy the apartment for the remaining days with grannies. The day we returned from Hong Kong, we packed like crazy. The official move took place the day after. What followed was three days of hectic unpacking in the rented apartment before we left for our second vacation in Phuket.

It was all like a whirlwind affair. Friends called us crazy for scheduling two vacations in the same month as our big move and they were so right. We were crazy for stressing ourselves out so much though it was unintentional. E was just so optimistic back in March/April that it would take a while to sell our home given our asking price and the prevailing market sentiments. He was confident that even if we sold it before June, we would only need to vacate in July, which would give us plenty of time for vacations. :D   Oh well, it was stressful but we survived. So next time we could look back and just laugh at ourselves.

So here we are... in our temporary home. I am getting used to this place now, though there are many areas that I dislike. It's not a biggie, especially since I can take comfort in the thought that we will leave this place in time to come, for a much nicer place that we can transform into our next dream home. There is much to anticipate and plenty to do for the months ahead. For now, I am going to enjoy the ride and look forward to embracing our new life.










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