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Parenting

New way of hailing a cab

Little Fella: Press this button and the taxi will come ( said with a straight face whilst pressing his belly button)

Mummy: You sure a taxi will come if you press the button. What colour taxi do you think it will be?

Little Fella: I think it will be a white one :) ( he loves the Mercs cabs)

There you go, a brand new way of getting a cab. All with the press of a button.

Sex and the City-the movie

Yes…I have watched it and I LOVE the show. For its one-liners, for its shoes, bags,clothes and evrything pretty. We watched the special sneaks last night as Iz had won them in a competition. It came at the expense of his points but I reckon they were points well-spent. And l love him to bits for winning those tickets. Not only was it a nice movie, it was extra special as they were Gold Class tickets so got to be in a cinema that only sat 40 people, velvety seats with fully extendable leg rests, a blanket and a butler service of  sorts. It was like the ‘business-class’ of movie theatres. Really nice!

The movie did not disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think that in order to fully appreciate and understand it, one would have had to watch the series. The characters are still the same though I feel that a couple of them have aged. Read ages ago that one of them battled breast cancer too. Both Iz and I unanimously liked the same scenes in the movie and at some parts, I teared too. I think that the show though light-hearted and even shallow to some, does have its undercurrents and little ‘morals of the story”. They tend to make one think and to a certain extent even appreciate life/friends/relationships etc.

I would watch the movie again if given the opportunity and I am definitely going to buy the DVD.I think it was a film well-made. I was so excited to go too cos this was the first time that we were going into a movie theatre eversince I got pregnant. Walking hand in hand after the movie, talking about it and having supper made me forget for a moment that we were parents. I felt like we were dating once again. We do go out on our date days on certain weekdays in the afternoon and then pick the little fella up from school in the evening. But somehow this felt different as we were going out at night. Yesterday was also the first time that we hav left the little fella alone in the evening with GG and MM. Was a little worried about how they would cope, if he would fuss, if he would sleep etc, But all my fears were needless, MM said that he did not cry one bit and just asked to go to bed about 8.30 or so. I am so proud of him. This morning, he said that he wanted MM n GG to come again next week. So perhaps, just perhaps, we could have more evening dates. :-)

 

Short episodes

Episode 1:

The little fella wanted to watch Finding Nemo and so we did. He was all excited and sitting on my lap, all geared up for a great movie. As usual..he was asking all the hows, whys, wheres and whats. It was just minutes into the show when his mouth started curling downwards, face scrunched up and wah….he burst into tears. It was all because Nemo had gotten seperated from his daddy and was swimming away. After that, he just wanted to be carried and kept asking for his Daddy. Wanted Daddy to carry him and lie with him on the bed.  That night, Daddy put him to bed and it was all but 8.30pm!

Episode 2:

We were taking a cab to MM and GG’s house this morning and the driver probably thought that he was flying a plane. We went from one lane to the other , zipping quickly past amber lights. At one point, the little fella said..”like racing car like that…” :) A good thing we still got to MM and GG’s house safe and sound. :)

What I will or will not do..in parenting

As requested, here is my list:

Do Again

  • Put him in school as opposed to being home with maid/grandparents
  • Read to him right from birth though he may not respond
  • Try different foods with him so that he will not be picky about food

Do Differently

  • Keep him in the cot, move him to his own room earlier
  • Self-feed earlier
  • Bottle-feed earlier

Think we are really blessed cos he was a relatively easy baby to take care. Was pretty fuss-free and had no mega problems with all. Of course it was was tiring the first couple of months but at least it was not difficult. I actually much prefer and enjoy it now when the little fella is a little more grown up and can interact better. I like talking to him. Of course, the difficult thing now managing his tantrums and disciplining so that he does not grow up ill-disciplined. I have always liked the mission statement of St Andrew’s School which is “From boys to men, men of grace, polish, wisdom and stature, in favour with God and man.” I used to see it when on the expressway on the wall of the school building. Always thought that it is so nice. And that is something that I want for the little fella to.. to be a man of grace and polish. :-)

Leila?

Who is Leila? What is Leila? Just yesterday, the little fella and me were drawing. Out of the blue, he said,”Leila”. I thought it was something he wanted me to draw. So I asked..what Leila? Ladder? But no..it wasn’t anything. THEN it dawned on me that he was speaking Mandarin..he actually meant to say “Lei le” ( meaning:tired). He was tired and wanted to go sleep. :) It amused us cos he sounded all funny but it was a good thing that he is starting to speak more Mandarin. It is all thanks to his ‘lao shi’ in school. Now when we pick him up..he can say,” Wo de mama lai le” ( my mummy is here) to lao shi. I think I should start buying him more books in Mandarin.

The weekend

It was a really lazy weekend with lots of time spent at home. Guess it was a good time to rest since we were all sick the previous weekend. But I got a bit bored towards the end so brought the little fella to the park and explore playgrounds nearby. It was the first time I was bringing both the little fella and Jeremiah out. I made the little fella promise that he would walk and not make me carry him. So he was really good. In the midst of our walking around, we found this quite nice playground and it was meant for little kids. The equipments were all from Little Tikes so the playground was nice and safe. 

Things to do with a very active toddler

I have decided that we/I should bring the little fella out more for outdoor play rather than to stay at home and watch telly all the time. He loves his Playhouse Disney but I reckon he should not be watching too much telly. So over the last weekend, I tried to engage him in as much outdoor / non-telly activities. As Daddy was working, I brought him to the playground on Sat morning and after that, trooped off all hot and sweaty to MM and GG’s house. At the playground, there was the usual slides and steps.But he has gotten more adventurous, now he wanted to walk across the concrete slabs by himself. It was a nice little walk because the concrete slabs were on water and laid across a little stream of sorts. It taught him focus and balance ‘cos there were gaps in between the slabs and if he was not careful, his lil feet could very well slip between the slabs. We did that till it threatened to rain and I whisked him away.

At MM and GG’s house, he could feed the fishes and prawns and there he probably had a little ecological lesson. He saw the fishes and prawns eating.Oh..he also saw a little prawn that had jumped out of the tank and was being attacked by the ants. That probably traumatised him a little. Hee..

Yesterday, we had a nice easy morning playing with his toys and watching a bit of telly. Had a nice pizza/lagsane lunch and played a little while more before it was nap time. He was good cos I told him he could play with bubbles after he woke up. So we did and after that, I brought him downstairs with his soccer ball. Had a rather nice ( and hot!) time chasing and kicking the ball all around. People who saw us probably thought of us as 2 weirdos who held hands and just ran all around with the ball. :) Whilst resting, he saw a man loading up boxes on a lorry and covering them with the canvas. So he asked questions like what is he doing, what is the cover for etc etc.

The after an hour plus downstairs, it was shower time. He wanted the tub and he also wanted to bathe the ball. So together with his ball (rinsed already), he went into the tub. Played with the bubbles and bathed his ball. Oh..before he showered, he helped me cook his dinner by scooping the brown rice porridge into the cup and then into the top. So told him that he was such a big boy already and could help cook his own dinner. Think that made him rather pleased.

He was really really good…after he was changed and all, i placed him on the couch ( with the telly) and told him to stay there whilst I took my shower. And when i came out some 20 mins later, he shouted from the couch ” Mummy, I am playing with your coins.” He had found my coin pouch on the table by the couch, unzipped it and was playing with all the coins. A good thing he has learnt not to put things into his mouth.

After that, had his salmon and mixed veg miso brown rice porridge..Finished all and asked for more soup! No..not the end of the day yet ..still had about 3 hours before bedtime. So I decided to bring him shopping since he wanted a new water bottle. So we went to Causeway Point and shopped. He was being really good..walked with me all the way so brought him to Kiddy Palace to choose his water bottle.As usual, he took ten thousand minutes choosing one he liked. Finally found one he liked cos he said that his classmate had it too. It was some unidentifiable bear character. Then wanted to buy him a pencil case so that he can use it when we go out. But after looking at the pencil cases there( there was Thomas the tank engine, Bob the builder, Strawberry Shortcake etc etc), he said..”I don’t like any of these.” So I told him we will go elsewhere to look and he agreed without a fuss.

After that it was off to Mothercare..I wanted to get him jeans for our NYC trip. And they were having a 30% discount for their winter wear collection so it was perfect. Tried some on for him and let him choose which one he liked. So he did after much deliberation.

After shopping and a bubble tea treat..it was off to the Library. He was really happy especially when he saw Daddy! He told Daddy who was on the 3rd floor, ” Wait..I am going to look for my books..Wait..Patience.” So off we trooped to the J section in the Library.

The day ended about 10 or so and think with all the activities, he was tired out. So slept rather quickly. All these activities in a span of 2 days…I need to find more things to do. I have been toying with the idea of creating a little garden for him in our corridor..then he can learn about plants and maybe insects. Wonder if he will like that….

Parenting Classes 101

I have been wondering if perhaps we both need parenting classes. On how to be a better parent and how to communicate better. Through the past year especially,I realised that both Iz and I have very diffirent parenting styles. Of course, they are things we agree on but there are also others that we simply can’t seem to find middle ground. And of course, when that happens, we both end up being unhappy. And it bothers me a whole lot cos one of my pet peeves is being faced with someone who is really grouchy.

Who is right?Admittedly, I am the less fierce one at home and tend to give in to the little fella more. But I feel that I am firm enough when I need to be. Obviously, Iz dosen’t think so and he believes in ‘discipline’ when the need arises. Of course, I do agree but I also feel that talking to the little fella helps too in bringing the point across..instead of mere punishment and scoldings that will only result in more tantrums.

I used the ‘distraction’ tactic quite a lot and I like it because it seems to work but Iz feel that that is giving in. Just like earlier on, the little fella was throwing a tantrum because he saw Iz playing on his PSP too. So he wanted it too. This is where you can clearly see our diffrent parenting styles.

 Me: I tried coaxing him and distracting him with other things..tickling him..asking him to read etc etc. But he still continued crying so I just persisted in talking and pacifying till he quietened down. Only after he quietened down, then did i ask if he could take someone else’s toy and whether it was right. So I asked…can u take Teacher XYZ’s toy? Can u take Teacher ABC’’s toy? He shook his head and said no. So asked if he was still going to take Daddy’s toy and he said No. So, it worked for today and I am hoping that he will remember it and I will reinforce with all these ‘pep talks’ whenever i can.

 Iz:When the little fella started crying, he very firmly told him ‘No’ and just stood his ground. That, to him, is not giving in and just persisting in being firm and consistent about not giving in to demands.

So obviously, there is a difference in our styles and sometimes they clash. Is there one that is more effective/ That is where we then become unhappy with each other and the problem escalates from one of the little fella to us. Of course, it passes but then I do think it is very unhealthy..that it will have its detrimental effect in the long run.

 But how do we reach middle ground without stepping on each other’s toes?Do we need to be reminded that we are first husband and wife before we are parents?

The cute little things…

Little fellas can be so trying at times and so cute at others. He had us in stiches yesterday with little conversation.This took place when we were out shopping after we picked him up from school.

Little fella:Wait, Daddy Wait!

Daddy.. Stood still in his tracks and asked: Wait?

Little fella: Wait.. wait… Patience…Be a good boy…later Matthew buy ice cream for you.

Daddy:Do you have money to buy ice cream?

Little fella:Have..money is in Matthew’s bag.

That had us all in stiches because he said it so earnestly and all in good timing because we were approaching the ice cream shop. Minutes ago, he had asked for an ice cream and he probably reckoned that if he bought one for Daddy, he could eat it too.

And this was coming from someone who is all but 2 years and 4 months.

Later at the supermarket, he decided that he wanted some colour pencils and paper.So we let him browse through the racks and choose the ones he wanted. And boy is he a fussy little one!! He tooks some tens of minutes just to choose his colour pencils and sketch pads.Looked at thin pencils, fat pencils,short ones, long ones…exercise books with squares in them, lined ones, plain ones and finally he made his choice. Think even at his wee little age, you can see how he uses his decision making skills.It is interesting just that it took a long long time.

And perhaps this is the character formation stage where the little fella is no longer just one who relies on us for his basic needs but also has the capacity to think/demand his rights. Am sure it will be an interesting journey/lesson for us as we see him grow more and us, learn more so that we can teach him the correct things.

Mish-Mash

It has been a really busy month with work as usual and stuff on the homefront. Work has been busy as usual and it has twarted my body clock as well. Cos I stay up for late night calls, I am now such a nocturnal creature. And on the home front, the little fella just  recovered from gastric flu. And like any other parent would say, it is the most tiring when little kids fall sick. And really most of the time, you are wishing that you are the one sick instead. He had it quite bad this time around and it took him a full week before he was finally OK. Anyway…all is well now and I can only pray that all will stay well especially since Christmas is round the corner. I do want to celebrate it this year since we gave last year’s a miss cos of the Pox.So fingers crossed…all will be well.

 Last evening, we went to this Korean restaurant in West Coast. Can’t remember what it is called…food was all right but what I liked was the play room for kids. It was a ‘ball room’, pretty much like the one at Ikea,just that it is shallow-er and more suitable for younger kids.And the little fella was so happy in there, throwing the balls, swimming in it etc etc. I was just thinking how nice it would be if we had a play room like that too. Am sure the little fella would love it to bits. Well…maybe when we shift to the bigger place, he could have a play/activity room. He enjoyed himself so much that he did not want to come out for dinner or to rest. Just wanted to play ‘a little while more’.

He is now learning to bargain with us. “A little while more”..”Last one”…” 5 mins more”.. Cute but also got to teach him his boundaries already!