...my boy...learnt.....weekend

Things my boy has learnt over the weekend:

1) Learn to get on and off his new tricycle that my parents got for him for Christmas
2) Whe he gives flying kisses, he will put his hand to his mouth and as the kiss flies, he also announces its coming "flying kisses"!
3) When daddy asks him to give me a kiss, he does so with the sound effect "Muuaaah". And becuase I laugh and laugh when he does so, he finds my reaction funny, laughs and muaahs me again!
4) Occassionally he says "Hello" and "Bye".
5) Occassionally he shakes hands with people when told to.

It's great to see how fast they learn things.
Childhood is indeed a wonderous thing!

First Christmas gathering

Lest my blog be doomed with filled with gloom...

Sunshine shine, rain begets a bow.

***

There are 2 things in a year that I look forward to sharing with my SG - the SG retreat and our Christmas party.

It was not a oikos/Matthew and friends night for us coz if you ever go to any of our gatherings, you will either get overwhelmed by the kids or see overwhelmed adults!

(and it might even scare off newly weds or going-to-be- weds!)

So, we had our own gathering. It has been a long time since the whole gang (sounds like school!) gathered together even! The result of being a parent with obligations at the side!

So, with 2 kids, 5 toddlers, 1 baby and 12 adults, we gathered under Simon's roof!

For the first time, I was more interested in talking with the adults and playing with the kids to take any photos of the food. But the spread was glorious and complemented the atmosphere so well.

I don't remember who brought what, although WY did bellow it out.

There was fried noodles, fried rice, mix vege, satay, roasted chicken, lobak, REAL brandied fruit cake, durian puffs/tarts, fruits, agar agar, grass-jelly drink...etc. I think there was more but as I said...busy busy me!

It was great too coz we didn't need to bother much about where our son was. There were loads of games and things to keep them occupied within the living hall. And if not, there would always be an adult keeping an eye on him. We kept an eye on any kid that ventured within the area we sat.

And we sat in small groups everywhere around the living room. And we also circulated so much so I talked to everyone that evening....except Patrick, come to think of it! Sorry Patrick!

Loved the little girls! Girls are so different from boys! And more so now that all of them are pass 1 and nearly 2! Wanted to kidnap Zoe home too until I heard she is an angel up until 2 am! hahaha....

It was great. It was a good time of catching up.

The 2 elder girls took the trouble even to give a performance! And they sang beautifully the song from that abalone chinese drama (what is the name, WY?)

Can't wait for our next SG trip. There will be one more to the kids-gang then hopefully!

Shrudder, tear...

I was at the doctor's office. Picked up a magazine and saw an article about child trafficking.

I read one paragraph, shuddered and teared...

"...he opened the diaper of an infant girl and inserted his finger into her vagina. After a few minutes of doing so, he had sex with her."

Your little girl.
An infant just in diapers.

He is not human, he cannot be human.

And then I found this You Tube. Did you cry too?

A time in times

In times of glad tidings, sorrow hits.

My sister-in-law's (SIL) dad passed away Sat night. He was 52.

My SIL's 2nd sister would be having her tea ceremony (marriage as in) this Saturday.
The funeral would be this Wednesday.
How to go on?

It was said that she was in Chilli's having dinner while she received the first phone call.
Daddy had a heartattack.

Hurry, hurry pay the bill.
10 minutes later.
Daddy has died.

The quick pitter patter slows down into sold slow steps.
There was no reason to hurry anymore.

When I heard the news, shock overwhelmed me.
He was a jovial guy, always friendly.
His wife was one of the most approachable person I knew.
Their family was a close knitted one.
My SIL had 3 younger sisters.
The youngest still in secondary school.

The breadwinner of the family....
How should we go on?

To remember your marriage, to celebrate your anniversary
In actual remembrance of what?

In times of sorrow, tidings of joy
Can they exist?

Perhaps in time, shock that turns to grief will turn to acceptance
and then fond remembrances of things in the past.

No regrets.
Don't think of the 'What Ifs'.

Dressing up Christmas

When I first read about this from Parenting Times, I was quite excited.
The writer of this blog is right. It is not as interesting shopping for boys' clothing as compared to girls.

I mean for boys, the best you can do are shirts and pants or maybe dungarees.

And with my active toddler who cannot wait 2 seconds for me to put the shirt over his head, my range of clothing that I can choose from is even more limited. I try to look for shirts that are buttoned instead of over the head. And given that they are for casual wear, I also need to get some shirts that are casual in nature even though they are buttoned!

And as if shopping with an active toddler is not tough enough....what more shopping with a limited choice in mind.


So, this new range of clothing that she told me about really got me curious.
I can't imagine how cute my boy would look in these boys' clothing!

There are some casual patterned shirts to choose from.


Also there are some more formal clothing. The shirts are very colourful and would look great especially with Christmas coming up! And the Chinese New Year collection also looks rich and glamorous!

There is one short sleeve one in rich red for the day and another long sleeve one with bright red sleeve ends for the night. And the colour should be dark enough to hide any toddler accidental food stains too!

Also looking at the other range of boys' clothing there are some sharp looking, bright coloured mini look-a-like daddy's shirts that I can buy for him. In the next wedding dinner, dressing him up looking like a little adult would thrill my inlaws and parents to bits!

So, the shop being in The Curve makes it great. And the choice makes it even better.

Check out the website and the shop as well. You may very well find the best outfit for the next function for the little angelic boys that we have!

The perfect Christmas gift

It is the digital age. Loads of pictures are taken with digital cameras. These digital images are kept in hard disks or pen drives and stored one on top of each other in the drawer.

A relative drops by my inlaws place. "How is your grandson?" they ask my inlaw. A thought to bring out some photos pop to mind. But alas, there are only 2-3 that we have printed out for them in paper.

So, words would have to suffice.
A picture would have spoken more volumes.

After which it was not a pretty picture when inlaws decide to share a few words with me on the NEED of some pictures of their grandson.

So, a load of digital pictures to be arranged, brought to the shop and printed.

"Walk around for 3 hours-lah or come back later" the photoshop guy tells me.

We decide to walk around. It was tiring. And a whole lot of time wasted. And it isn't easy waiting around or going back with an active toddler in tow.

2 weeks later, my parents decide to come down. Their Christmas wish is for some photos of their grandson to be kept in their home. "I miss Christopher. Got photos at least can look at them mah", my mum rants on.

I couldn't imagine going back to the photoshop and spending another bomb of $, time and energy getting another batch developed.

So, you can imagine my delight upon discovering EOE. Online shopping are very much accepted these days, so why not online photo developing as well?

And now, there is a contest even that gives you 50 shots free!
Also, with each 4R print at only RM0.30 (current promotion) and free delivery* for orders above RM35.00, you’ll really get your money worth!

No better time than Christmas time that I have found this site.

You can bet there will always be beautiful pictures around the house now and in my inlaws place and in my parents place. No need for many more words.

Check it out yourself!

New house updates

So, are we rushing to move in before Chinese New Year?

That is the question we have been receiving alot to date. And with no doubt. Quotations, sending reminders, choosing colours, checking out prices etc. has intensively filled up any free time I have during my weekday and almost all of my weekend hours.

Things done to date:
1) Quotation for renovation finalized after 3 weeks
2) Grill quotation finalized and deposit given - work started and planning to be completed in Jan.
3) Sofa booked - deposit paid
4) Water filter confirmed - monthly imstallment starting
5) Lightings choosen, save for the porch light - deposit paid
6) Fans bought - all 5 of them!
7) Backdoor confirmed to be changed
8) Tinting confirmed for back 3 windows
9) Shower door - deposit paid

Things outstanding:
1) Washing machine and fridge
2) Aircons
3) Paint brand, colour and quotations
4) Dining set and beds
5) TV cabinet
6) Master bedroom curtains
7) Blinds for living room and kitchen
8) Bathroom and kitchen accessories
9) Buy tiles for wet kitchen
10) Find mover

And with all the things to do, my planned 'timing' of events are:
1) Wet works completed 2 weeks before Chinese New Year
2) One weekend to paint the window sills
3) Put up grills and backdoor

CHINESE NEW YEAR BREAK !!!

4) Paint the dry kitchen and master bedroom
5) Put up dry kitchen cabinets and wardrobe
6) Continue to paint the rest of the house

MOVE IN !!!
....and so I plan, and I pray and I wait.....

Concern to date

Greatest concern to date is my little boy's bump on his head.

• He bumps his head when he sees bigger boys run around and his legs cannot catch up.
• He bumps his head when he gets frustrated that he cannot do what he wants to do.
• He bumps his head when he walks without watching where he is going.
• He bumps his head on the table, on the floor and on any object he trips against.

Still signs of a bump even though he has not fell for a few days now. Sigh...

And this is him in his near crew-cut....accidently first, purposefully remedied.

Posing for mummy... and having ice cream.

"Complete it" tag

1. Life is full of lots of ups and downs (can't help it, this is a lyrics of my favourtie song when I was young!)

2. I smile when I see warm and fuzzy moments of my kid and any kid I know.

3. I can't sleep when boyboy is sick and whn hubby snores.

4. I love the smell of fresh bread.

5. When I can't sleep, I go out and watch TV.

6. I often dream about nothing I can ever remember of in the morning.

7. I get irritated when I am tired.

8. I like the sound of rain.

9. People often call me Ann.

10. I wish I could prevent my son from falling down and falling ill.

11. The best creation in the world is the human body (not that everything else is not "best" too!)

12. 1st 3 words that comes to my mind: toothache (coz I am having one now), Thursday (coz that is when my parents go back home) and Christopher (coz he is always on my mind).

13. I've discovered that it is not easy raising a child.

14. When I'm in love, everything seems a-ok.

15. A baby is born with the ability to talk (after Oprah's show on neh, heh, owh, aier and eh).

16. Before I met my husband, I frequently kept things within me.

17. A good marriage requires give and take and loads of communication.

18. I dislike it when people do not pay attention, are plain rude, and what is it with sarcasm?

19. I say 'I Love You' rarely these days.

20. My favourite subject in school was Biology (but I sucked in it! so, maybe I just liked the teacher, he was really CUTE!)

Want to do it?
Poh Nee
Simon