Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Bathing Together

XY has been asking me many times to bathe her and didi together when she sees didi in the bathroom. I haven't tried that coz the shower area (separated by shower screen in the bathroom) is quite small. They won't be able to move much (which is better, no?) and I'll need to stand at the door when they're both inside.

But the other day, I made an exception. After they played in the garden, I bathed both of them together. There's no bath tub as CE doesn't use it anymore. I just showered them while they're standing up. But still they find that fun. It was evening so don't have to shampoo their hair. I just wet their hair. After I wet their hair and body, I put soap for XY and asked her to scrub herself. Then I lathered soap onto didi. Once done, I rinsed the soap off them. Next, wrap XY in a towel. And she wiped herself dry and wore her clothes while I attended to didi.

I doubt I'll do that often as it takes longer to bathe them together. Scared they'll catch a cold. On the other hand, if they don't do this 'bathing together fun' now, it won't be appropriate anymore as they grow older. hmmm... Do you let your kids bathe together?

A little update on the sick folks at home :
Thank you so much for your well wishes. The kids are much better already, just coughing occasionally. As for me, the throat's not so painful anymore but just a little uncomfortable. Still got lots of phlegms to expel.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Feeling Under The Weather

** Warning : Boring sick post ahead. **

Felt quite horrible today. Having a very bad sore throat and runny nose. The last few days the throat was just a little uncomfortable. Today it's killing me. And it didn't help that I slept at about 2am yesterday. Was watching the TVB series that I recorded. I figured it wasn't 'harmful' coz it's supposed to be entertainment mah. (Yup, the *ss doing the thinking - stay up late not harmful. :p) Then I had to wake up extra early to send XY to kindy this morning (PaPa had to leave early for work). Moreover CE didn't sleep very well last night as he was coughing. So all that added up, the result was a zombie-looking slave. Since morning, I was already looking forward to nap time. hehehe Luckily managed to nap for a few hours with the kids.

Where did I catch the bug? It started with XY. Last week, she was coughing and having runny nose. Her cough's still not completely gone. Sounds very chesty. But she kept saying there're no phlegms. She's only spitting out saliva. Didi's also having chesty cough and runny nose. :( A few times, he coughed till he almost vomited (with the 'uuerkk' sound) but nothing came out. I suppose he doesn't know how to spit out the phlegms (although he knows how to spit out water), so he swallowed them in again. Good thing they aren't coughing continuously the whole day.

Ok, sick people at home, buck up, fight and win the war... fast!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

26 Months Old


Here's an update of 26 months old CE:

Food
After he was discharged from the hospital (end of June - viral infection), he didn't quite like bland food anymore. He didn't want to eat what we cooked specially for him. Instead he wanted to eat what we're eating. So I gave him some of our food, just so he'll eat more to get back his appetite. From then on, he's been promoted (food-wise) - with a bit of light soya sauce or sesame oil in his food.

Bowel Movement
He has more bowel movements in a day after the vomiting and diarrhea episode. Previously, he only does his big business once every morning. Sometimes he'll poo up to 3 times a day coz every time he goes into the bathroom (for a bath/wipe), he'll want to sit on the potty. Luckily this only happens at home and not when we're out.

Dislike Bathing
Well, more like dislike to be 'asked' to bathe. Whenever I ask him to go upstairs to bathe, he'll not cooperate. Even when he's already inside the bathroom, naked, he'll still make a fuss. But after I start to bathe him (wet him), he's fine with it. Weird fella. I wonder if this is one of the phases that all kids will go through.

Play Driver
He's very into 'driving' lately. At every chance he gets, he'll want to be in the driver's seat, turning the steering wheel. There was once when I was going to fetch XY back from kindy, he wanted to play with the steering wheel. But I told him he can only play after we're back home. So he cried all the way from home, to kindy till we almost reached home. :-| After 2 or 3 days of crying, he sort of gets the idea that he can only "pooh pooh" (that's what he calls car) after we reached home.

Brushing Teeth
He's not too resistant to brushing his teeth anymore. He likes to stand on the chair and look at the mirror while I brush his teeth (still without toothpaste). And he's mastered the art of gargling! Yay! Sometimes he'll still drink the water, but he knows how to spit it out.

New Favourite Programme
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is no longer his No 1 tv programme. Ever since Dibo: The Gift Dragon started in July, he likes to see this purple dragon more. I've downloaded the theme song onto my laptop and he can watch it many many times (more than 10!). I'll put the cursor at the Play button so when the song's finished, he can just press the left button. Sometimes he'll press it many times (play, pause, play, pause) but after getting a stern warning from me, he'll stop pressing unnecessarily. Coz if he continues, he won't get to watch it anymore. Well, sometimes he's not that obedient. He'll only stop after I whack his hand.

Counting
He can now recite "one, two, twee, por" very well. The numbers after that are not very consistent. He surprised me one day when he said "ten, ewen, tell". Must have learnt 11 and 12 from the tv. :)
As for recognising numbers, he's more familiar with 3, 4, 8 and 9. He gets them right most of the time (but not always). When he sees 6, he'll say 9.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Stamped

This morning, I received a call from XY's kindy. When I saw the caller ID, I got a scare coz they've never called me during school hours. Within that minute, so many thoughts flashed through my mind. What has happened to XY? She didn't feel well? (Couldn't be wor, she was alright before going to school.) Did she get hurt?

While the teacher was still talking (before getting to the point), she mentioned a boy's name and immediately I thought, "Oh no! The boy did something to her?" (Coz the boy has poked her eyes before :-|) Then I was somehow relieved when she said the boy has dirtied XY's uniform with a duster (for the white board). She told me the principal said if I can't get the stain out, I can get a replacement from them (I presume the boy's parents will bear the cost).

~ the stained sleeve ~

It was really a weird coincidence that she was wearing a new uniform today (I've just bought new ones last week as the old ones are very short already) and he chose to 'stamp' her. By the way, he doesn't pick on her, he disturbs other students as well.

I searched the internet for ink removal and the only solution available at home is nail polish remover. It didn't work. So I asked Kakak to put some Dynamo, let it stand for awhile, then wash. Luckily the stain can be removed completely. I think they must have used non-permanent marker pens in class. Now it's as good as new. Phew...

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Birthday Celebration For XY

For XY's birthday celebration in kindy, I sent the cake and party packs later in the morning. I also brought along didi and Kakak. The party packs are for her current and previous classmates. During the first half of the year, there were only 1 class for K1. There're 26 children with 2 teachers overseeing them in certain lessons. Then the class was split into 2 after the 2-week school holiday in June. For celebrations like birthdays, they'll combine the 2 classes during the party.

All the children were asked to sit down on the floor, facing the table. But they kept getting closer and closer to 'admire' the cake. The teacher had to warn them if they don't sit down properly, they cannot join the party. But after awhile, they're back near the table again. They were attracted to the cake like bees attracted to honey. hahaha

After the candles were lighted, the teacher switched on the birthday tune and the kids sang in English and Mandarin. XY was smiling shyly, probably coz this is the first time so many people sang a birthday song for her. Then she blew the candles and cut the cake (once). Her teacher took over and cut the cake. XY helped to distribute them to all the teachers.

~ looking shy while her classmates sang "Happy Birthday" ~

Then Kakak and didi came upstairs to the classroom. Another teacher had given didi some jelly so he was holding and playing with them (still unopened). After the kids have finished their cakes, XY distributed the party packs to them. They were asked to keep it in their bag as they were going to play some games. I left then.

PIL (from Johor) arrived in the evening. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant nearby, together with SIL and CH. BIL couldn't make it coz he was still in a business meeting. We booked a room with karaoke (the 3 kids kept hogging the mic) and ordered the set meal. The serving was too much for 7 adults (including the maids). We forgot to tell them to make the fried rice halal. (And they weren't tactful enough to ask us... hmmphh!) So we packed home some of the food that we couldn't finish. After the meal, she had another round of sing-song, candle blowing and cake cutting.

~ cutting her 2nd cake of the day ~

As for presents, she got a mini white board from kindy. So nice of them to give her a present. I bought her some hair accessories and a bracelet. Sen Sen bought her clothes and a necklace. Mah Mah gave her a blouse.

~ presents from Mah Mah/Ye Ye and Sen Sen/Chik Chik ~

Friday, July 18, 2008

BirthdayS

XY turns 5 today. You'd say she's a big girl already but she's actually a big baby. We can reason with her most of the time but sometimes she just wants to behave like a li'l baby. Guess she wants to imitate didi, looking at the 'privileges' he has. I know it's not an easy job being a jie jie - always being reminded to show a good example to didi, having to give in to didi on most occasions. But she's a good jie jie, who adores her li'l brother no matter how much he bullies her. And the best thing about XY is that she doesn't hold grudges. She forgives and forgets easily (the happy-go-lucky type). I hope she'll always be this happy.

At 5 years old :
* She cries easily and then acts as if nothing happened the next minute.
* Very playful, will play with anything (food, insects, name tag, soap, etc), anytime, anywhere.
* Has some hearing problems. If we don't shout, she can't hear us (meaning she'll only follow our instructions if we raise our voice). Sigh...
* She has a 'sharp backside'. So she can't sit still for 10 seconds doing nothing.
* Can count from 1 to 100. Quite good in Mathematics actually. Not much problems adding and subtracting numbers below 20 (as taught in kindy).
* Her handwriting has improved a lot too.
* Very helpful at home. She usually won't complain when we ask her to get things for us.
* A 110% vain pot. She's so 'oi leng' that we have endless battles on clothes. Even when going out for a meal at coffee shops nearby, she'd want to change into "nice clothes".
* She's growing very tall (116cm, measured on 21-6-08). Now she can touch the lights and fan switches in the house by tiptoeing and reaching up her hands.
* Can be bribed easily with food. hahaha

As mentioned in my previous post, there'll be 2 rounds of celebrations. One in kindy and one with family members at night. We're planning to eat out. As for the cakes, some of you managed to guess who M is but A is a little tricky. Here's revealing the characters on her cakes.


~ Annie (from Little Einsteins) & Minnie Mouse ~

Happy Birthday, Sayang!
May you be happy and healthy always.
We love you very very much.

Today also marks the 1st Birthday for SLAVERY BLISS! I made the right decision to start my own blog. I've found so many wonderful friends via blogging. It's a great channel for a SAHM to enlarge her circle of friends. We share so much in common. There are abundance of advice, concern, warmth, and entertainment too. Although I didn't do very well writing paid posts, I'm happy enough that my paypal account isn't showing a zero balance. :p

Slavery Bliss is ONE! *yoohoo!!*

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Birthday Celebration In Kindy : Preparation

We decided to let XY have a celebration in kindy this year (this coming Friday) as her birthday falls on a Saturday next year. As for last year, she skipped school to have a splashing good time. So this is the only year to celebrate with her classmates in kindy.

The preparation started two weekends ago when we looked for the gift bags. It was quite a hunt looking for them. I think I went into 4 gift shops before I found the appropriate paper bags (not too big and not too expensive :p). Didn’t get plastic bags coz I don’t know where to get them. Moreover the paper ones look nicer. :)

Last weekend, PaPa bought the party pack contents - ordinary stuff like raisins, chocolates, wafers, lollipops, sweets and balloons (definitely won’t go wrong with kids). Coincidentally, dental nurses will be visiting her kindy that day (to teach them about dental care). So how inappropriate the party packs would be. hehehe

~ the party packs ~

Next, her cakes. She’ll be having 2 cakes. The other one for our own celebration at night with family members. She gets 100% say on the pictures on her cakes (and she changed her mind so many times!). Finally it’s settled and I’ve ordered the cakes today. Would you like to guess the characters she chose? The clue: 2 different girls (from 2 different PHDC programmes). Their names start with M and A. Happy guessing!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Dental Visit

Sunday, 6th July, 2008 ~ I went to see the dentist to check my broken tooth. XY went with me to get her teeth checked as well. It was her first dental check and I was very happy that her teeth are all good. She was very cooperative. Opened her mouth wide when asked to. She didn't show any discomfort or fear at all. Maybe she's a big girl already or maybe because I've prepped her many times before the visit.

As for me, the dentist said the side of my tooth has broken. He removed the old filling and put in a new filling. After further check, he said there's a cavity on my lower left molar. So that needed filling too. I asked him if I'd be able to eat as I'm having new fillings on both the left and right side. Apparently the fillings used now (white colour) dry up very fast. And it doesn't have any mercury content, unlike the silver coloured one. I also did scaling and polishing. After that, my teeth felt smooth and clean.

While I was being attended to, XY was standing next to me. She was very curious to know what the dentist was doing. She kept walking over to the dentist's side, which she wasn't allowed to. And she was very "helpful" (kepoh as usual)... helped me to put the cup back to its stand after I've gargled. She really surprised me for being a very good girl. She waited for me for about 20 minutes and she didn't touch this and that or "explore" the room on her own.

Now let's forward to today ~ The kids fell asleep very fast just now coz they didn't take their afternoon nap. I had a lunch appointment and I brought XY along, left didi with PaPa at home. Met up with a very old friend, P (haven't seen him for more than 10 years, I think), and his girlfriend. They've eaten Kajang satay before so I brought them to eat 'latt thong'. After that, I went to Tesco to buy some things. Reached home at 4+. And didi hasn't slept yet. PaPa didn't manage to make him nap. That's why he fell asleep within 10 minutes after the lights were switched off. If only he falls asleep that fast every day. Normally it takes 1 - 1.5 hours. :-|

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Stylish Eyeglasses

This is a sponsored post.



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Monday, July 07, 2008

New Potty Seat

Bought a new potty seat for CE as the plastic cover for the old one has torn, thus revealing the sponge. It was used for 10 months already (considered durable or not?). While he was doing his big business in the toilet, I washed the new potty seat. Then he asked to play with it. He peeped through it and said "air-wow" (meaning hello :D). That was just too cute. I quickly went to take my camera to capture this.

~ I love my potty seat ~

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Excuses, Excuses

I've not been updating my blog frequently nor have I been blog hopping often lately. As usual, I have my excuses. hehehe

[1] Was busy with tax returns and managed to submit before 30th June (yippee!). Yeah... apart from being a full-time slave, I'm also the clerk cum accountant for hubby (not a qualified one though... hehehe).
[2] Busy entertaining ah boy as he wouldn't let me work on the computer/laptop. He'll come and disturb me every time I'm typing away at the keyboard. He's very good at pressing the Start button coz he loves to see the cat icon (WinVista). If not, he'll ask me to show him (I do Google Image Search) his favourite Disney characters, Mickey & friends.
[3] The kids were sick. Then CE got hospitalised.
[4] I have lost the momentum. Don't have much to say and write. And I don't want to stress myself up with updating the blog as it shouldn't be that way.

So folks, very sorry for the infrequent update and infrequent visits. Another thing that I've not been doing is tags. Some are really long overdue. Hope I've not missed any out.

1. Your Name In Japanese

This fun tag comes from Jacelyn.

For the instructions, add your name on the list and simply spell out your name using the given Japanese letter- translations below. Tag six of your friends and inform them of the tag. Have fun.

TRANSLATION:
1. OSWALD - moarimeikatate (sounds like america and states. har…. har… har…)
2. CHLOE - Miritamoku — Um…think I still prefer my given name, ha ha
3. GENG – Jikutoji — Actually, I think its cute sounding. Arigato gozaimasu!
4. CONSTANCE - Mimoto arichi katomiku — WOW! Does it sound like an authentic Japanese cuisine? YIKES! I broke it up cos it was quite a mouthful!
5. DORA - Temoshika – Sounds pretty good huh?! Does it mean beautiful woman?
6. Sting - Arichi Kitoji - Sounds like a guy’s name but at least it rhymes! LOL!!
7. Amidrin - Karinki Teshikito (I was deciding between Karinki Teshikito or Karinkites Hikito. LOL… still the english name sounds much better.)
8. Lemonjude - Takurinmoto Zudoteku (very long name, sounds like guy name also, still prefer my nick in English)
9. Jacelyn - Zukamikutafuto (aiyer...like a Malay guy's name..... my English name sounds so sweet ......rite?)
10. Slavemom - Aritaka Rukurin Morin (What a mouthful! Sounds quite awful too! :p)

How does your translated Japanese name sound like? (Also wondering if you'll translate your nick or real name.)
bp, BabyBooned, Health Freak Mommy & Kiasumum

2. Fantastic Blogger Award


Thanks Jo-N, for this wonderful award. I'm truly honoured. And I'm looking forward to meeting you soon. ;)

There are too many fantastic bloggers out there for me to list here so I'll just choose ONE to present this to. And the award goes to...
Jazz - for her talent in scrapping and photography, for writing interesting posts, for her competency in juggling family and career (and her fantastic blog) while Mr Hon's away, for being a great friend, and the list goes on.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Sports Day

Two Sundays ago, XY had her first Sports Day in Stadium Universiti Tenaga. It's also going to be her last (in kindy) as it's organised once every 2 years. That was partly why we let her attend the event even though she hasn't fully recovered from her bout of diarrhea. Moreover, she was involved in a performance.

The day began very early as the students had to be at the stadium by 7:45am. PaPa drove her there first as we didn't want to tag didi along so early. By the time we got there (second trip), we've missed the march pass but in time to catch her performance, the Pom-Pom Dance.


While waiting for her sports event, she suddenly said she wanted to go home. We told her we'll go back immediately after her event (wheel barrow race), otherwise her partner would not be able to play as well. She's the one holding her friend's legs while her friend walked with her hands. It's quite fun and entertaining to see little children in action as they can be quite clumsy. hahaha Her team (Yellow house) got 2nd place. Apart from children's events, there're events involving the parents and teachers too. But we didn't participate as there was no one to look after didi.

After her event, she wanted to stay for the prize giving ceremony. She is so fickle minded. One moment she can't wait to get out of there, the next moment she wants to hang around longer. Didi was quite uncontrollable (walking and running all over the place), so I brought him to the car and gave him biscuits while PaPa waited with XY.

~ showing off her medal ~