2nd Week in Standard 1

Mon - My driver duty has officially started. My days begin when the sky is still dark. Yes, our lifestyles change according to the kids’ routine. Traffic was heavy when I sent the kids to school but it’s manageable. Didi requested for company during recess time. PaPa went alone to check on him as he’ll go to work straight away after that.

Tues - We said our goodbyes. He walked towards the assembly area. Then he turned and walked back to me, crying. Asked me not to leave him there. Said he missed me. He wanted me to come during recess time, instead of PaPa. After some coaxing, he went back to assembly area and I waited for him (at the gate) till he walked to his class. I went to his school during recess but was not allowed to go in. They are quite strict that parents are not allowed inside the school compound from Week 2 onwards. If there's a need, we can get permission from the principal, it’s on a case to case basis. I gave the excuse that I wanted to see his teacher but I was still denied entry. The guard said teachers have their rest during recess, I can only go in when recess is over. I understand she’s just doing her job. I can’t help but wonder if it’s really necessary to be so strict (on the Standard 1 kids) on the first few weeks of school. I suppose they are training the kids to be independent, maybe the sooner the better. So I waited outside the gate. I saw him at the walkway on his way to the canteen, called him but he didn't hear me. Waited till recess time was almost over, he walked past again. (Actually he was on his way to the phone booth to call me as he didn’t see me in the canteen. But he doesn’t have any coins. *duh*) This time, the guard helped me to get his attention. Glad to know he finished his snack although l wasn't waiting at the canteen as promised. Luckily he only fussed for one day.

Wed - Homework has started but very minimal.

Thurs - Didi told me tomorrow (Friday) and the following Monday don’t have to attend school. And I almost believed him because he came back with 4 pages of Maths homework (writing). But I called up the school office anyway, just to confirm. I was going to give up as there was no answer. Finally, someone picked up the phone. And nope, no holiday. hahaha My guess is teacher was talking about the coming holidays, which are Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday and Thaipusam.

Fri - Managed to talk to one of his teachers. Apparently there are no school fees to pay (wow!) but there is some kind of “contributions” to be collected some time in the middle of the year. I also asked about the class streaming. It was a relief to know that he was not in the weaker class. Teacher then checked with me if he has any urinary problems. She can recognise him because he goes to the toilet very often. hehe I told her I don’t find anything wrong with him. So it’s more of a habit than a health issue. She said in that case, she’ll try to slowly control him. I hope when he’s more focused in class, he won’t be thinking about peeing all the time.

Orientation Day and First Week of School

Orientation Day, 28th December 2012
We gathered in one of the classrooms for a speech and briefing by the principal and teachers. The briefing lasted more than half an hour and the boy was getting restless on his seat, doing nothing and not really understanding what was being said. After that, we adjourned to his classroom to get the forms to be filled and passed up on that day. There are only 2 classes, with about 30 students in each class. He was very clingy to me. Don’t even want to sit on his own. Kept squeezing to share my seat. And you know little kids’ chairs aren’t very big. He kept telling me he's very bored. And when it was time to go home, he didn’t even want to look at his teacher to say goodbye. Sigh... good luck to his teachers. hahaha

First Day, 2nd January 2013

~ new trolley bag for didi while jie jie's using her old one ~

Both kids are in the morning session. They have to wake up at 6am. Although they’ve been waking up very late during the holidays, it was fuss-free waking them up. *phew* And I hope it’ll continue to be so. :-) This week, PaPa will be the driver. Their school start at the same time, so we dropped jie jie first. I stayed with her today, just to make sure it’s safe enough, being 20 minutes early in school. There are quite many students already. So I think from tomorrow onwards, I don’t have to accompany her anymore. This absent-minded girl of mine, I asked her to pack her bag yesterday but she forgot to bring the writing books. She only brought the texts and workbooks. *shake head*

As for didi, PaPa hung around while they were having assembly. After didi has gone into the classroom, he came to fetch me to the school. When we reached, the teacher was showing them the way to the canteen, which is quite far away. Then back to the classroom and it was about time for recess. At the canteen, I had to remind him to wash his hands before and after eating. After he’s done, I asked him to show me the way back to his class. And he just walked off, without taking his water bottle and snack box. :-| He’s still not familiar with the place, got lost trying to get back to class. hehehe We went home after he’s gone back to the class. Traffic was super crazy when we wanted to fetch the kids back. I guess it’s already expected on the first week of school. Hopefully it’ll be much better next week when I take over driver duty.

It’s just the first day of school, he’s already had a minor mishap. He slipped and fell, right after assembly. Made his school shoes and pants very dirty. The floor was slippery, a bit wet with algae patches, it wasn’t because he ran or something.

Second Day, 3rd January 2013
We just left jie jie at the gate and she walked into school herself. We stayed with didi till he went into his classroom. Checked on him during recess time. They were out a little early so we went to look for him in the canteen. He was sitting down, eating his snacks. Thankfully he wasn’t one of those kids running around, playing there. That place is quite dangerous as it’s hilly and uneven. We left after he’s gone back to class. Picking them up after school was uneventful, except for the horrible traffic. It’s quite difficult to find a place to stop, so can forget about parking the car. Looks like I’ll have to bring Kakak along every time I fetch them to and fro school.

Third Day, 4th January 2013
Traffic was much better. I guess most parents didn’t have to send or stay with their kids anymore. Didi is now in a different class. Apparently they had a mini test yesterday, which he didn’t mention at all when we asked him about school. I don’t know what is the criteria for streaming. Will find out if I get the chance to speak to his teachers.

PaPa went to check on him during recess time. He remembered to take his snack box back after eating but didn’t even bring out his water tumbler. *aiyo* And he requested to call me from the public phone. The public phone really fascinates him.

My driver duty has started as PaPa had something to attend to at work. Friday’s traffic is much better than usual as the afternoon sessions will come in much later. I managed to find parking at both schools. The only killer is the weather. It’s scorching hot!

Didi hasn’t gotten his text books yet. Fees also not collected. I don’t think they do anything much in school. From the minimal information I got from him, the test they did the day before was on alphabets and maths. He said he can answer them (don’t know how true loh). As for jie jie, she’s got homework since Day 1. So she’s very envious of her “very free” didi. hahaha

School Events

Since I have not been updating the kids’ activities for the past few months, here are some event highlights, from recent to old, for my record. :-)
 
CE : Annual Concert & Graduation Night, 4 Nov 2012
This is our 6th year attending the kindergarten’s concert (3 for jie jie and 3 for didi). And it’s our last year… till our grandchildren’s turn, I guess. hahaha This year’s theme was “People of Asia”. Didi participated in the percussion (playing the castanets) and a dance.

~ percussion performance by the 5- and 6-year-olds ~

~ receiving his graduation certificate from the Director ~

~ Mongolian Chopstick Dance ~

He received a prize for getting 2nd in the colouring contest. It’s a Zebra double wall mug, which he started using the next morning. :-)

~ 2nd prize for colouring contest ~

~ singing the finale songs with the teachers ~

XY : Hari Anugerah Kecemerlangan, 9 Nov 2012
On the last day of school, she attended the morning session as it was Awards Day. She received a certificate and RM20 cash voucher (from a bookstore) for getting 2nd in class.

~ a proud moment ~

XY : Ceriaton 2012, 22 Sept 2012
XY’s school organised Program Ceriaton to increase school funds. She was given a booklet to collect donation. She has anti-social parents so she only managed to fill up less than half a page (with names of close family members only :p). In conjuction with that programme, the students had a performance. XY and her schoolmates sang a Chinese song, with actions -- 幸福的脸 (xing fu de lian).

~ performing a Chinese song ~

CE : Sports Day, 15 Jul 2012
CE is in the red house. His kindy organises Sports Day once every two years. Previously, he was in the blue house. His event is called Hopping Ducks. It involved carrying a ball in between the legs and hopping in a sack. His team was last so he got a bronze medal. There were only 3 teams in the games so everyone got a medal. :-)

XY : Sports Day, 30 Jun 2012
Standard 1 to 3 students played games instead of participating in track events. XY’s class event involved moving the ball with a hula hoop and walking with the bean bag on the head. Her team got 3rd place.

Last Parent-Teacher’s Day In Kindergarten

Yay! Kids’ exams are over. CE’s was in the 1st week of October while XY finished hers on Friday. We even had a mini celebration that night. They invited their cousins over and had pizza for dinner.

I went to CE’s school this morning to collect his report card. I’m very pleased that Teacher J doesn’t have any complaints about him. Well, the only thing she highlighted is that he needs to be more macho (yeah, that’s her exact word! :D). He’s still very shy and timid. He needs to build up more self-confidence. She said he’s improved compared to the 1st semester -- more talkative and sociable now. Other areas for improvement are his spoken languages, especially Mandarin. Hmm… these are almost the same feedback as in the 1st semester.

I’m also very happy with his exam results. He managed to score full marks for Science and Bahasa Malaysia. Although he didn’t get very high marks for his Chinese paper, I’m actually impressed with his ability to answer the questions. At least it shows that he can recognise quite a number of Chinese characters and understand what is required. :-)

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
A pleasant and hard working child who is able to express himself clearly. His work is always neat and tidy. His academic result is bright. Well done!

It was confirmed he got 2nd prize in the colouring contest which was held in school. He told me a few days ago but I had to see it to believe it. hahaha It was really a pleasant surprise. *wide smile* But I do wonder how they selected the winners. :p

His colouring contests in kindergarten :

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6 - 2nd prize

Well, at least can see an improvement over the years. :-)

The Celebrations

This is another very backdated post. As mentioned earlier, we had a small party at home for CE’s birthday. I was really lazy to make balloon decorations. I told ah boy and he was okay with it (wah, so considerate hahaha). Then while he was napping, I felt bad so I pumped a few balloons and hung them on the curtain rail.

super simple deco

We had our usual “party food”. Bought satay, ordered pizza and Kakak fried bihun and nuggets (just a bit for the kids) and cooked curry chicken. After the kids finished their food, they played Wii games, as requested by the birthday boy (coz usually no pc/tv games on school days).


jie jie, didi, kor kor and mei mei

blueberry cake

presents



For the celebration in school, I bought a black forest cake for him and prepared party packs for his classmates. I planned to make the paper bags myself by referring to Sasha’s post. Thanks for the tutorial, girl! After buying the brown papers, I found it so tedious to cut the papers into the right size, fold, stick, fold, stick, fold some more and open it up. And I had to prepare 24 of them (including for jie jie and his cousins)! I wanted to give up so I went hunting for those ready-made paper/plastic bags. But can’t find any suitable/nice ones. There aren’t many choices around my area. The patterns are very girlish, not that suitable for his class where majority are boys. So I had no choice but to make the paper bags myself. Luckily I bought a steel ruler and a penknife (really sharp!) so it made the work a little easier. I cannot imagine the amount of work needed if I were to do exactly like Sasha. Cut out the alphabets to make the kids’ names? Oh, forget it. So I just printed some characters (decided by birthday boy) as decoration. I also eliminated the strings and just folded them over. Jie jie helped me a lot with making the paper bags and sticking the cartoons. The birthday boy wrote the names of his friends on the paper bags and put the goodies into them.

contents in party pack

party packs for friends

I also prepared some gifts (chocolates and sweets) for the teachers as they were celebrating Teacher’s Day on the same day as well. Got this idea from mom2ashley’s post. Thank you, D! Found some white plastic bags in the drawers, printed some wordings on coloured paper and cut out rectangular shapes from manila cardboard. Again, I got CE to write the names of the teachers himself.

gifts for teachers

6 Years Old

CE turns 6 today. We'll have a small do for him at home tonight, just us and BIL's family. He'll have another session in school on Friday. It's a combined birthday celebration for all children born in the months of April, May and June. I asked if he'd like to celebrate with his friends in kindy on his actual day but he said just a celebration at home will do.

At the beginning of the year, PaPa made a deal with him. We want him to learn to be more independent and do some simple chores on his own. By his 6th birthday, he must be able to clean himself after doing his big business, bathe himself and brush his own teeth. If he fails, there won't be a birthday party for him. hahaha Well, he passed the toilet test. But still not very good at shampooing his hair and brushing his teeth. I doubt they are brushed thoroughly. A good effort on his part, so the party is on. :D

Collected his 1st semester exam results on Parent-Teacher's Day last Saturday. Academically and socially, he's doing fine. He scored above 90% for all subjects, with a perfect score for BM (what a surprise). He mixes well with all his friends. Teacher J doesn't have any complaints but she highlighted that he needs to build up his confidence, to be bolder and speak up. He's very timid and soft-spoken in school (which is a total opposite at home o.O). Another thing to take note of is his Mandarin (oral). Guess we've to speak more to him in Mandarin. Actually, I think his BM is just as bad, especially his vocabulary. I wonder how he was graded.

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE is a smart and soft spoken child. He has improved in his social interaction skills among the friends. He is able to master in 3 languages. Keep it up.

Happy Birthday, ah boy!

May you grow up healthily and be happy always.

The Temporary Kakak

Before I continue with my post, here's wishing all mothers out there :

Happy Mother's Day!

I wonder if the kids can keep their promise of being extremely well-behaved just for the day.
:-)

The kids' exams are over... phew, what a relief. Luckily CE's exam was 1 week before XY's so I had time to coach them individually. Revision with CE was quite a breeze as his syllabus wasn't a lot. As for XY, although this was the mid-year exam where all the subjects were tested (8 altogether), I didn't spend that much time revising with her. We totally left out Moral (books not given back by teacher) and just browsed through PJK (only 1 writing book to look through). Anyway, these subjects are not calculated in the overall marks so I concentrated more on the 4 major subjects. :p

There's another reason why I didn't spend much time doing revision with XY. I was busy being the temporary Kakak. We gave Kakak a 2-week holiday back to her kampung as she wanted to attend her BIL's wedding. She's been with us for 4 years already and this is the third time she's gone back. Actually house chores are not difficult work, they are just time consuming. But I've got plenty of help. XY helped with sweeping and mopping the floor, using the magic mop. She also helped to hang the clothes sometimes. I only needed to iron the kids' school uniform coz hubby ironed his own working clothes. I rarely cooked, just a few times of simple noodle soup for lunch. We ate out during weekends and for dinner on weekdays, we "catered" from SIL. :D She was so kind to offer to cook for us. We ate at their house most of the time (I don't even have to clean up after that as she's got a helper) and packed food home for hubby (he's usually back from work quite late). When Kakak came back last Saturday (5th May), I happily passed all the work back to her. Ahhh... back to my blissful life.

Oh yes, while the kids were digging for stationeries for their exam, they found some "treasure" in the drawer. I've kept them there and forgot all about it. They are brand new, box unopened. Hubby won them in a credit card contest last year. I'm putting them up for sale. It's great as a gift for your little ones. XY likes to listen to it. She's learning a new Mandarin song (还是要幸福) by Hebe. I've printed out the hanyu pinyin lyrics, together with the Chinese characters, to help her pick up the language. Anyone interested to be their new owners?

Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB (4th generation) - BLUE
Price : RM109 (retail price : RM169)

Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB (3rd generation) - BLACK
Price : RM99

Long Disappearance

*cough cough cough* Gosh, so much dust and cobwebs in here. Some of you might have thought I've abandoned this blog or retired from blogging... or something. :-) Well, I don't want to bore you with the excuses. So let's just have some updates. Hmmm... where should I start? Okay, in some sort of chronological order :

CNY 2012
The journey back to our hometowns were rather smooth and uneventful, thankfully. As usual, it's feasting non-stop and gathering with family, friends and relatives during the festive season.

We attended the CNY potluck party in CE's kindy. I brought sausages and nuggets (too lazy to prepare anything creative :p). Every year, they have lion dance, which never fail to fascinate the kids. The lions were very playful. So when CE put his hand near its mouth to feed it oranges, it "bit" him. I think his hand was pulled a bit too hard till it hurt so the silly boy cried a little. hahaha

~ CE got "bitten" by the lion ~

St. John Ambulance
XY was assigned to join St. John Ambulance and Maths & Science Club for her co-curricular (Ko-K) activities. If we don't agree, we can ask the teacher for a change but I think it's good to learn some first aid knowledge in St. John. I had a hard time looking for her uniform. The smallest sized t-shirt they have is so big on her. The smallest sized pants were too loose. I bought them anyway and the pants had to be altered. Even the belt was too long and I had to cut it myself. She has Ko-K once a week and it alternates between uniform units and clubs.

Valentine's Day
Received a bouquet of flowers from hubby. It didn't turn out to be a surprise coz when hubby called around noon, I didn't mention anything so he had to ask me about it. They haven't delivered it, although they said it'll be delivered in the morning. So hubby had to call them to check. Turned out they can't find my place and a taxi guy actually delivered the flowers at 4+pm. Apparently the delivery fella sub-contracted the job to him. o.O

~ a dozen of red roses ~

Slithering visitor
SIL's maid saw a little snake, about 1 foot long, in my kitchen. It must have entered through the small opening underneath the door. She quickly grabbed the broom and whacked it. It was hurt but still alive, squirming on the spot. Both the maids were scared, so I continued to whack it till it stopped moving. I was totally freaked out (thus forgot about snapping pictures :p) but someone had to do it, right? Hubby was out running errands and when he came back, he got the honour to scoop the "dead body" into a plastic bag. Afraid that the mommy snake was nearby, I called the Fire Department to lodge a report. They came in their big red truck, all ready with the snake catching tools. When we told them the snake is dead, they took the plastic bag and wanted to leave. We had to ask them to check the compound to make sure there were no snakes hiding around. One of the men said that the little snake must have been catching a rat and followed it to the house. o.O Later in the day, I bought sulphur powder and sprinkled it around the backyard.

Surprise for mom
In early March, I went back to my hometown alone for my mom's birthday, without telling her in advance. I called my brother that morning itself, to pick me up from the airport. Didn't want to tell my brothers earlier, in case they accidentally leaked my plan. hehehe And it worked! She was VERY surprised when she saw me. Mom's birthday fell on a Sat this year. I actually bought AA's tickets in May last year during their sales. I only spent 1 night at home but it was really great to spend quality time with her as when I'm back with the kids, I'm usually distracted by occupied with them.

Kids' health
Didi had fever on the Thursday before the 1-week school holiday. He was coughing badly. Paediatrician said it's lung infection. He was feverish for almost a week. Luckily it was during the school holiday, so he had a good rest at home.

2 weeks later, it was jie jie's turn. She started having fever on Mon (26/3). It started with runny nose, then cough. Her fever lasted for 5 days. During that time, I brought her to the clinic 3 times. The first antibiotics didn't work and had to be changed before completion, to the same type as didi's. So I guess they were attacked by the same bacteria (lung infection), although 2 weeks apart. She was absent from school for a week. She also missed her first school outing (a full day outing to Pusat Sains Negara, chocolate factory and don't-know-where-else) on Saturday. She was really disappointed.

Last Wednesday, it's back to didi's turn. :( He's got ear infection, both ears. Complained of ear pain on Wed night. PaPa came home at 11+pm and brought him to the hospital (most clinics were closed already) coz we don't have any medicine at home. He was still in pain after putting the ear drop so I gave him paracetamol. The next morning, brought him to our regular paediatrician coz I don't really trust the doctor at the A&E. Although he didn't have any fever, the doctor started him on antibiotics coz he's usually more aggressive when it comes to ear infection. Luckily he didn't complain of pain after that.

Photobook
I've just received my second photobook. I bought 2 vouchers in Sept 2010. After procrastinating for more than a year, I completed didi's book in Jan and got it just before the CNY break. I was busy slowwwwwly working on jie jie's book last month. Finally it was done and uploaded for printing just before the expiry date (end of Mac). :p

~ from birth till 3 years old ~

~ from birth till 4 years old ~

~ inside XY's photobook ~

Back To School

Just into the 2nd week of school, didi had to skip class due to health reason. Sigh... He was the stronger one during the school holidays. Apart from having mild running nose, he was overall quite healthy. On the other hand, jie jie got sick (with fever) twice in December. But last Thursday, his eyes were swollen when I picked him up from kindy. Brought him to see the paediatrician in the evening as his condition got worse. Doctor suspected that he was bitten by some insect and was having some kind of allergy reaction. So I let him skip school the next day to rest at home as he was also having running nose and cough. Then red patches/dots (non-bulging) started to appear on his ears, hands and neck, then body and legs. But the funny thing is, the patches/dots will appear, then disappear a few hours later. And reappear again. The cycle kept repeating. It was like that throughout the weekend. When the swelling around the eyes subsided a bit, it was replaced with big red circles. He looked like he was punched in the eyes.

~ look terrible hor? picture taken on Thursday, 5:21pm ~

Then yesterday evening, he developed fever after we came back from lunch. Luckily it subsided after a dose of paracetamol. That's why I let him attend school today. The red patches/dots are gone. I'm praying hard the kids will recover fully for CNY. Yup, jie jie's also having a flu. :-( With all the "nice" food and travelling, it's going to be tough if they're not in tip-top condition.

As for the back-to-school routine, didi adjusted to it very well. He didn't have any problems waking up in the mornings. Anyway, he rarely had such problems previously. On the first day of school, I brought him to the gate, waved him goodbye and he walked in himself. This is his 3rd year in that kindy and I would expect him to be independent. When I picked him up, his teacher said he was well-behaved. She was worried at first as his cousin brother (who was his companion there last year) has graduated from kindy.

As for jie jie, I find that her honeymoon years are over. Now that she's in Std 3, there are more homework, but I'm sure nothing compared to those from Chinese schools. I was so surprised when she got her timetable on the first day of school. I remember they took about 2 weeks to give out the timetable when she was in Std 1.

She's been selected to be a prefect. I think they are on probation now before they officially become one next year. She'll still wear the same uniform but will be given a badge and tie. Some of her duties are to "take care" of the students in the classroom during the teacher's absence and before school starts, when they line up to go to their respective classes. She'll have an earlier break coz she has duties when the others are having their break. That means she'll have less time to finish up her work in school and I hope she won't miss any lessons.

CNY is just around the corner. Here's wishing you a prosperous, healthy and happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai and happy holidays! If you're travelling during the festive season, have a safe journey!

Goodbye 2011

How time flies! 2011 zoomed by so fast without us realising it. I wonder why time seemed to crawl slower when we're younger. Is it because we can't wait to grow up but we seriously don't look forward to grow old? hehehe I'm very thankful it's been a good year for us. As long as nothing bad happened and everything's smooth sailing, it's indeed a good year. I hope we'll be blessed with another good year in 2012 and thereafter.

~ the kids with MV's Christmas decoration ~

Here are some updates for the month of December :

4th (Sunday) ~ Went to watch Puss In Boots in 3D. This time, CE was okay wearing the 3D glasses. And I think he enjoyed the show as much as the popcorn. Coz he didn't come and disturb me after he's finished his popcorn. :D

After we reached home, XY complained of stomachache in the evening. It got worse the next day. She also had fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Brought her to see the paediatrician and he suspected viral infection, not food poisoning. Since she couldn't really take solid food and she's been vomiting, I made the Oral Dehydration Salts water for her. And she really hated it, both the original and orange flavour. I tried a packet myself, it tasted fine. It was really difficult to get her to finish a cup (in a day) and I had to bribe and force. Luckily she got much better after a day and her appetite was back to normal 2 days later.

8th (Thursday) ~ I won 2 tickets to watch Jacky Cheung's concert via an sms contest. SIL was very kind to offer to babysit the kids so hubby and I can go. This is the 2nd time we went for his concert. The 1st was more than 10 years ago, I think. I took the train to meet up with hubby at the stadium. It was an awesome performance with great dance moves. Jacky can dance and sing fast songs 2 to 3 songs continuously. Very good stamina (for his age hehehe). I sat next to 2 ladies (in late 20s or early 30s) and we acted like teenagers -- shouted his name out loud and moved the blinking wands to the rhythm of his songs. *giggle giggle* He sang for 3 hours with minimal rest in between. The concert ended before 11:30pm. We were stuck in traffic for quite some time after exiting the parking lot and it was already past 12 midnight when we picked the kids up. Many thanks to SIL for the opportunity to go 'pak thor' with hubby. Ever since XY's arrival, we've not been on a proper date.

~ inside the stadium ~

11th (Sunday) ~ We finally decided to get a second-hand piano for XY. As we do not know how long her interest will last, we didn't want to invest heavily on a new one. She chose the piano herself. She prefer Kawai over Yamaha, maybe because she's been playing on a Kawai (CH's) all this while. We got her a Kawai BL-31, about 32 years old. It was delivered on the 13th. Her teacher was asking if we'd like to register her for the Grade 1 practical exam next year (between June and August). After getting her teacher's feedback on her progress, I've decided to let her take the next one in March 2013. By then, she would've learnt for 2 years. There's no rush, better give her more time, less stress for her (and me).

21st (Wednesday) ~ After the pest control service, we went to Tesco for sundry shopping. Then lunch at McD and the kids played at the indoor playground. Since Giant is just nearby, we continued 'shopping' again as I couldn't get all the things I wanted from Tesco.

26th (Monday) ~ I had a gathering with 3 of my secondary schoolmates. We had dinner at my place. So nice of them to come all the way (1 from Seremban, 2 from KL) to my ulu town. It was really great catching up with old friends over good food. I haven't met L since she left school after Form 5. We had BBQ marmite crabs (*yummy yum yum* which A brought from Seremban), satay and home-cooked fried bihun. XY was very excited that night and kept my friends entertained. Actually, she was over-excited till she got out of control thus getting a good scolding from me the next day. The girls commented that she's totally opposite from me as I'm a very quiet person. The funny thing is, PaPa's also a very quiet person. So where did she get this outgoing trait from? hmmmm...

28th (Wednesday) ~ Brought the kids for a haircut. School will reopen soon and it should still look neat enough for Chinese New Year. XY agreed to cut her hair short (not tie-able anymore). Wanted to get a new school bag (without trolley) for XY as her classroom is located on the 1st floor next year. There wasn't much choice and she didn't like the ones we saw. So didn't manage to get the bag yet. To split the weight, I got her a sling bag too.

XY fell sick (again) the next day -- fever and runny nose. Luckily her fever only lasted a day. Actually, CE and I are also recovering from runny nose. Hopefully everyone will be fully recovered before school starts.

Proud Moments

So fast 2 weeks of school holidays have passed. The kids have been fully occupied so far. They attended a Science Camp organised by CE's kindy last week (for 3 days). Their grandparents were here for a week, just went back on Wednesday. During their visit, the kids have been playing at their cousin's place from morning till night, with a break during naptime.

Now for some backdated events, CE had his Annual Concert cum Graduation Night on 12th Nov. He participated in 2 performances -- percussion and dance. It was a big relief that he didn't play a fool on the stage (remember his teacher's complaint during practice?). In fact, he was very serious with his dance moves -- very serious in shaking his bum bum. hahaha He seemed to be really enjoying himself on stage. It was also CH's (my nephew) graduation night. He was chosen to give a speech in Bahasa Malaysia. And he did it fluently and clearly. *clap clap clap*

* shake shake shake *

On 19th Nov, we went to XY's school for the Excellence Awards Ceremony. She got first in class and also a prize for Best Subject: English. She had to be in school by 7:30am so PaPa sent her to school first. Last year, all of us went at the same time and wasted time waiting for the VIPs to arrive. Then we had to endure the boring speeches. So this time, I thought we could skip all that and reach just before the prize-giving event starts. Unfortunately, they were ahead of schedule. By the time we reached the venue, she was about to go for her second round. I was just in time to take her picture. *phew* Just like last year, she received a certificate and a RM20 cash voucher for each of the award.

~ just in time to capture this ~

2nd Semester Progress Report

At the Parent-Teacher's Day in CE's kindy, we discussed about his progress in the 2nd semester. His class teacher has just resigned so we spoke to her assistant, Ms V. She said he's good in class, no complaints. Gets along well with his friends and teachers. He did well in the 2nd semester exams. He scored full marks for English, BM and Mathematics. And got above 90% for Science and Mandarin.

Some of the things Ms V highlighted :

1) He likes to help his friends by giving them the answers. Although the teacher has specifically told the class not to help others, he'll still tell his classmate and show him the page (where the answer is). Sometimes when he's so "helpful", the teacher will ask him to teach his friends, but he'll just give them the answers directly, instead of telling them how to get it.

2) He sometimes daydreams during lessons. But surprisingly, he can catch up and respond to his teacher's questions.

3) Ms V noticed that recently he's always having a troubled look on his face, like he's very stressed. I've asked him before, but couldn't find out what's bothering him.

4) As the school concert is drawing near, Ms V is worried about his dance coz at times, he doesn't cooperate during practice. Earlier this week, he was punished by another teacher for not dancing properly when it was his turn but was dancing at the back when another class was doing theirs. Hope he won't be so playful on the actual day.

5) We agreed that his chattiness depends on his mood. If he's in a good mood, he'll talk a lot. But when he's not in the mood, he doesn't communicate much and it's like he's living in his own world.

6) He didn't seem to grow much in half a year. His height remained the same and his weight increased only by 1kg. Hope to see better growth next year as he's taking Pediasure now.

7) His coloring has improved a lot (not so much out of the lines) and the principal complimented on his handwriting. Yeah, he can write very nicely if he puts his heart into it.

~ This is part of his Science paper. Quite neat and
nice hor his handwriting? *hehehe syiok sendiri* ~

I also spoke to his Mandarin (extra class) teacher, Ms L.
* He's very quiet in class and doesn't mix much with his friends. He'll talk to them if they approach him but most of the time, he prefers to be alone. It's probably due to the language barrier as he's more comfortable conversing in English. At the beginning, he speaks to Ms L in English but now he tries to speak more in Mandarin.
* He sometimes doesn't want to read out loud together (as a group) although he knows how to read the passage/book. Yup, that's my stubborn boy.
* A bit slow in his work. He's quite fussy with his Chinese writing. When it's not very nice, he'll rub it off and write again.

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE interacts more with his peers now. He is a fast learner, catch up things fast, especially in phonics. With more practice and encouragement may help him to converse better in Mandarin!

Their Favourite Toys

The kids love to draw on the drawing board. I think they use it (almost) everyday. This is the second Fisher-Price (FP) drawing board we bought as the first one was spoilt already -- the eraser got a bit stuck. Jie jie loves to draw on it while didi loves to write alphabets and numbers. Sometimes they take turns to give each other questions like maths and fill in the blanks. We've bought a non-branded one before but the FP one is definitely more durable.

~ setting and answering his own 'fill in the blanks' question ~

Another favourite toy is the alphabets from the alphabets mat. This is one of didi's favourite. He likes to build words with them. If I'm not mistaken, he started having this interest when Word World was first introduced on PHDC. He also likes to use the Jenga blocks (wood block game) to build words. They are just not interested to play Jenga the "right" way.

~ building words with foam alphabets and Jenga blocks ~

When he was still a crawling baby, I arranged them at one corner of the house as his play area. I even used the alphabets to decorate the wall during his birthday this year. 1 toy, so many usage. What a fantastic investment. :-)

~ didi at 13 months old, playing on the colourful mat ~

The push car is also a big favourite. Although they've outgrown it (their legs are too long for the small car), they still like to zoom around the house with it. I redeemed this with Anakku points before didi was born. It was in good condition when jie jie was using it. We kept it in the store room till didi was old enough to ride it. And the "buffalo" broke the steering wheel within days of playing. o.O So it can't control the wheels anymore.

~ so big already but still want to sit on the small car ~

Boring Weekend

Didi was sick (red throat with fever) since Thursday and he's skipped school for 2 days. Then the next day, my throat started feeling "tight". As we have 2 unwell people at home, our food were mainly soupy and a bit bland. So guai-guai stayed home to "recuperate" over the weekend -- no jalan-jalan (shopping) and no makan-makan (feasting). Moreover, the chauffeur's away on business trip. :D

I suppose didi's almost fully recovered. His fever subsided on Friday and he doesn't complain of sore throat during mealtime (except when eating fruits, which I find really weird coz he likes fruits). I'm also feeling much better already.

I brought XY to her school to collect her report card on Saturday morning. She was so shy in front of her teachers -- hiding behind me and just giggle giggle when teacher asked her questions. o.O Haiyo... I really beh tahan when she "acts" timid in front of people she's familiar with. If with strangers, I can understand lah. *shake head*

Her class teacher, who's also her Math teacher commented that she :
* is quiet in class (that's shocking news to me! hahaha).
* is focused during lessons.
* will try to finish up her homework in class.

Her English teacher said "she's good" BUT she "tends to rush through her work", thus making spelling mistakes. She also stresses the need for checking her work before passing them up.

I'm so relieved the teachers didn't have any complaints about her. I'm very happy with her results and behaviour in school. Hopefully she'll keep it up and do just as excellent in the year-end exam. Deep down, I'm very proud of her but I try not to show it too much. Coz I know she'll become big-headed if we praised her too much. Well, there's always room for improvement, right? hehehe But of course, we'll reward her accordingly. She wanted a bicycle so we're planning to get it for her (as a birthday gift as well). I bet if she has another request, PaPa will comply if it's not unreasonable. Have to start planning for her birthday which is in 2 weeks' time. Nothing much to plan actually, just got to decide on the cake and menu for dinner. We usually just have a simple celebration at home with BIL and family.

School Holidays With Grandparents

We went back to Penang to visit Po Po in the first week. Then Ye Ye and Mah Mah came to visit in the second week. The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins. We didn't go out much when we're back in Penang. They spent a big chunk of time playing with PSP and my SIL's handphone. *shake head* Brought them to Youth Park to play at the playground one evening. There's quite a lot of people, although it was a weekday. I haven't been there for many many years already and the place has changed so much. The playgrounds and exercise equipments are well-maintained. Especially love the big trees surrounding the area, providing shades everywhere.

I also had a gathering with my secondary schoolmates. Finally got to meet Olive, SP and sweetie DQ, after a few unsuccessful arrangements. I think we haven't seen each other for 7 years. Had a great time catching up with the gang at McD. Did the right decision to choose a venue with an indoor playground (although that was just a mini one). I brought XY along and left didi at home with SIL. Smart move coz I was able to truly enjoy the food and company. Just needed to keep an eye on her from our table (we sat very near to the play area).

Ye Ye and Mah Mah stayed at BIL's house. The kids are very happy every time they are here coz they get to spend the whole day (except nap time) playing together with their cousins. And they also love the fact that we go out for breakfast often when their grandparents are here.

CE complained of toothache since Sunday (5/6). Brought him to the dentist on Wed (8/6) and was told there was nothing wrong with his teeth. But there's an ulcer on his gum. Glad to hear his set of teeth are in good condition but have to take note that his upper left molar is a bit dirty. Got to make sure we brush and clean it properly. I asked the dentist to clean his teeth and he was very cooperative, considering that was his first dental visit. But he disliked the taste of the toothpaste so he had to gargle very soon after the dentist started the cleaning work. So it was a few rounds of cleaning and gargling, with the chair adjusted up and down, up and down.

Within a week, XY lost 2 teeth. They came out on their own. And she's really cool about them, although there was a bit of blood. Upper right lateral incisor on 5/6 (just dropped out by itself) and upper left lateral incisor on 9/6 (while playing rough with didi). So now she's RM1 richer. Yes, this tooth fairy is quite stingy one. Only 50 sen per tooth. hahaha

CE's Birthday Celebration

CE turned 5 on Sunday. We had a small do for him at home, together with BIL and family. The birthday boy wanted to eat pizza so we had pizza, KFC and fried noodles for dinner. I did some simple decorations with alphabets (from the alphabet mats) and balloons (a must-have for their birthday parties). I don't think the balloons are hung nicely (and always at the same boring place) but I doubt the boy minded. As long as there're balloons, he's a happy camper.

~ I asked him to pose near the wall deco, he wanted
to "pose" with his artwork from Art class ~

~ the very simple balloon deco ~

As for the cake, he actually requested for a number 5 cake. I checked with the bakery, the minimum weight is 2kg. Last year, we got him a 2kg number 4 cake and we took many many days to finish it. I'm not going to torture ourselves again. So I drew a big circle with a number 5 inside it and showed it to him for approval. Luckily he agreed. Phew... problem solved. I ordered a mango cake from Suki Bakery. It was very nice -- soft and fresh, with mango chunks inside and mango slices on top.

~ mango cake with number 5 on top ~

In order to make the kids sit still after dinner, I let them do sand art. Haiyo! It's not so easy to do when you don't have big containers for sprinkling the colours. And messy too! Luckily I covered the table and floor with newspapers. I'm not sure if those are of low quality stuff (RM3 per pack), but the boys had difficulty peeling it off. So I peeled for them but they decided on the colours to use. Good thing jie jie can do it all by herself. They really enjoyed it and were very proud of their masterpieces. Now that I know they like it, the next time we see sand art at the malls, will let them try again. No more doing sand art at home. :-)

~ sitting still doing sand art ~

After the arts and crafts activity, it's sing-birthday-songs (have to sing in 3 languages -- I guess they followed the custom in kindy :D), blow-candles, cut-cake and eat-cake time. XN (CH's mei mei) missed this part coz she was napping on the sofa.

~ halfway through singing the 3 birthday songs, he put his
hand around jie jie's shoulder. Awww... I think he was shy ~

~ the boys giving their thumbs-up ~

~ his presents -- the t-shirt he's wearing, a cheapo tool set with
belt and helmet, and a Swatch watch (from CH and family) ~

1st Semester Progress Report

Went to kindy to collect CE's exam results and discussed his progress with his class teacher, Ms W. He did quite well in his exam. His scores are all above 90, with full marks for English. Anyway, I'm sure the teacher helped/guided him during the exam coz I saw some erased pencil marks for the wrong answers. hehehe Anyway, to me, exam at this level is not important. It's just to gauge how much the children understood what was being taught in class.

In the developments grading (social and emotional, language, cognitive and motor), he got mostly average and good. The teacher highlighted that he's not very good at cutting with scissors and doing tear and paste work.

Behaviour wise, he's generally ok in school. Ms W commented that he's not the talkative type. She said 5-year-olds are usually quite talkative (probably coz they're more familiar with the surroundings, especially for those who started at 3 or 4 years old). He doesn't really mix and talk much with his friends. He'll answer when teacher asked him questions in class but he usually won't initiate a conversation. I suppose he's the type that only opens his mouth when necessary. :-) In a way, isn't that good? hahaha

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE gets along well with his classmates. He can follow teacher's instructions very well. He is good in BM & English reading. He can further improve in Mandarin writing.

Hello Everybody!

Long time no see! Wow... this is the longest break I've taken in the cyber world. Whoosh! 3 months just flew by. Better clear the cobwebs and get back in action before I lose all my blogger friends. hehehe As it is, some have already given me warnings. o.O But seriously, it's really heartwarming to know that there are friends out there (you know who you are) who care and wonder how you're doing when you've been "missing" for some time. Thank you so much for your warm thoughts, girls!

Hmmm, where do I start? Ok, here are some random updates :
* Mother's Day 2011 -- we went back to PaPa's hometown on Saturday to attend his grandma's 80th birthday celebration. We only spent a night there. Didn't even celebrate Mother's Day for MIL as we left after lunch. No celebration for me either. No mood anyway coz CE was sick. I got a card each from the kids.


* CE had his first exam last week. But he has 2 more papers to go because he was sick. Had high fever due to throat infection/gastroenteritis -- diarrhea and stomach cramps.
* Due to his prolonged cough, doctor suggested that CE take Alvesco Inhaler (started on 24 Mac). It's not sprayed directly into the mouth, but used with the AeroChamber. His condition improved after 1 month of usage. He still coughs every now and then, but for a much shorter period compared to last time.
* 19 Mac -- went to the dentist to extract XY's lower right lateral incisor.
* XY started piano lessons in March.
* CE started Mandarin classes in April -- once a week after school hours in his kindy.
* Brought the kids for a haircut in April. Finally snipped off XY's over-the-shoulder-length hair to chin level.
* I went back to Penang for Cheng Beng, alone. It was a good 3D/2N trip away from the kids. :D But too bad I had diarrhea so didn't get to enjoy all the hawker food that I've been craving for. Never mind, will be bringing the kids back again end of May, during the school holidays. Then it's payback time. muahahaha
* Have been watching a lot of tv series -- Hong Kong and Singapore dramas.
* Started eating oats for breakfast (not everyday though) and exercising on the trampoline 2 to 3 times a week to control my cholesterol level. Really hope to keep this up.
* Will be busy preparing XY for her mid-year exam, which will start on 23 May.

Art Class & Lemon Cake

Didi attended his first art class today. The art lessons are conducted in his kindy after school, once a week. He had catered lunch from kindy. I'm glad to hear the principal commented that he ate his lunch on his own and very fast too.

~ posing with his lantern ~

So he came home 2 hours later than normal. By the time he finished bathing, it was already 3+. I decided to let him skip his nap so he can sleep earlier at night. Since I don't have to accompany him for his nap, I baked a cake, using the cake mix which I didn't buy. So who "bought" it?

During our last shopping trip at Tesco (3 weeks ago), didi put a box of Pillsbury cake mix into the trolley without me realising it. I had a trolley-full of stuff, so I didn't notice it when the cashier was scanning the items. When I looked through the receipt and saw the item, I remembered that he was holding the box and checking it out. That's the problem when the kids offer to help put things into the trolley. Sometimes they just dump whatever they fancy without asking our permission. However, this is the first time he did that. I must warn/remind him not to do it again the next time we go sundry shopping. Luckily it's not something that we don't use. Just that the "slave" got more work to do. hehehe

~ Pillsbury cake mix ~

I don't know what other flavours are there, but he took the lemon one. Good thing it's very simple to do. Just mix all the ingredients together (cake mix, water, oil and eggs). But I tried to be smart and didn't use up all the water as the mixture was quite runny with just half the amount. So the cake turned out to be quite dry. :-( Taste wise, it's quite alright, not too sweet. The kids have no complaints though, they love it. Well, they are very easy to please, where cakes are concerned. :-)

~ the end result ~

First Week Of School

Day 1
PaPa played chauffeur, fetching didi to school in the morning and jie jie, in the afternoon. So I got to goyang kaki (relax) at home till my "shift" in the evening (to fetch jie jie back). :-)

He didn't accompany didi, the little boy walked to his classroom by himself. He's just like jie jie when she was in kindy, quite independent. At home, he told me they played dough and games in school.

As for jie jie, PaPa accompanied her to the classroom as he needed to settle the school fees with the teacher. Jie jie cried in the classroom because she didn't manage to get a seat at the front. She was sitting behind and was afraid she can't see the white board. The manja girl needed to be pacified by PaPa before she stopped crying. *shake head*

She received the time-table. I didn't expect that coz last year (in Standard 1), she only got the time-table in the 2nd week. Looks like they are not THAT slack actually. hehehe

Day 2
Jie jie forgot to bring back her Science pack (I prepared individual plastic bags for her to put her books according to subject). Her text book and note book were inside the pack. She claimed she left it under her desk.

Day 3
Couldn't find the books. So when I picked her up from school, I spoke to her class teacher and she said she'll help me look for it the next day.

Jie jie wore her rain coat for the first time. It was raining very heavily. I bought it last November and since then, she's been waiting for the chance to wear it.

Didi wet his pants in the school toilet. He didn't position "it" properly, so ter-sprayed on his pants too.

Day 4
Jie jie found her Science pack. *phew*

After sending jie jie to school, we (didi, Kakak and I) went to Tesco. Had lunch at The Chicken Rice Shop. We shopped till it was time to pick jie jie up = spent 4 hours in Tesco. I've never shopped so long there. You must be wondering if I bought the whole Tesco huh? :p Actually we spent quite some time at the clothes department coz Kakak was looking for some t-shirts.

Day 5
Didi started having runny nose in the morning and woke up with a fever after his nap. :-( First week of school already fallen sick. Haih... Up till now (Day 6, night), he's taken 3 doses of paracetamol. Highest temperature recorded was 38.2ºC. Hope his fever will not come back later.

Jie jie forgot to bring back her water tumbler. Aiyo... so forgetful like an old lady.