testing

am blogging from my phone. No, it’s not a iphone lol cant afford 1, dont want 1.

1 of my projects for later dis year:increasing my herb/spice garden. My pandan, aloe vera and basil surviving and thriving hehe. I dont have a lot of room but i can manage a few more pots. Easy care really. I shall plan it carefully, 1 pot etc a month. i’d like to go those stands, like in a row/bench, so i can have more plants, neatly. Any suggestions for a good nursery and to get that stuff?

Meeting a couple of friends later after i take k to school. Shld be fun! Hehe

Today’s adventure

As I mentioned in the previous post, we went off to Js’s classmate’s bday party.

We found the place ok and a space to park. It was a big house and grounds! Apparently it was the grandparents place but wow..

At the door, the boys got this sun visor thing (I must upload pix from phone) where u can have sunglasses glide down after pushing a lever as well as a solar operated fan hidden in the visor. Canggih kan? And that was just at the door gift. It was a beach themed party so they were dressed accordingly

There was a pool in the backyard (a real pool, not like my “pool” hehe) and a clown on stilts, face painting, crafts, a magician, games by an entertainer etc.Even a treasure hunt too.2 sand pits. A big spread etc. It was an epic party! The kids had a great time.

later on, the kids went into the pool. K wasnt prepared for the sudden slope of the floor and almost went under. he can swim of sorts anyway so he was trying so hard to paddle over back to the steps, but he was panicking, his face was just above water so he wasn’t drowning as such but still a worry. I was empting my pockets (darn all these gadgets and things!) aiming to get into water to help him, j2 was nearby, I yelled at him to go get his brother. I had to yell twice (so noisy mah) and k kept trying to swim onwards. so j2 managed to grab his brother and drag him to the steps and another boy came to help too. Poor k cried and cried. so I soothed him a while and then made him go back in. just around the steps (which were my instructions in the first place). I told him “I dont want u to be afraid of the water, I want you to understand the rules, whether you can swim a bit or not. Even mummy who can swim well follows the rules”. So slowly he went to play a bit nearer the steps, after initial panic and whimper. So I (evil mum that I am) carried him in as far I could (luckily wearing shorts lol). He was ok for a bit (one of the other boys offered to jaga him and take him in) but k had had enough. So not wanting to push my luck either, I went to get his towel, he followed me. He’s ok now, none the worse for wear. I was glad I wasn’t a panicked mum either and stood there and j2 was nearby (he was very proud that he rescued his brother). Darn those gadgets. had to empty pockets! Anyway we stopped talking about it anymore once the initial excitement (and they had to tell daddy and grandparents) was over. So he’s not dwelling on it.

after swimming, he soon settled back down to enjoy party, he ate very well (5 small roti canais, several pieces of chicken, jelly). and he enjoyed his mini treasure chest (its wooden and veyr nice) from treasure hunt and gathering all the goodies from that.

The boys got a picture frame (Big one) with an instant picture from the day of all the guests! Wow. They had so much stuff to bring back. It certainly was an epic party! In many ways Im so glad Im not a kiasu mum, I can’t compete LOL

Im glad they had a great time and I will make sure k swims more and isn’t afraid. He tries not to be, he told grandpa that Im only a bit afraid of the water now, i still want to swim. so whew!

We are all a little sunburnt but happy. I took only a few pix , busy trying to watch kiddies. I dont know how the parents just sit there, not watching their toddlers, esp near a big pool like that. I can’t blame the toddlers, they were attracted to the balloons and balls floating in the pool, another kid had fallen face first in, his big sister grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out. And he kept going back, in the end, I took him back to the parents and said he keeps trying to go back in and he nearly fell in again. so they took more care after that. I asked one of the older boys to keep an eye on another toddler whose parents didnt even notice where he was! I was saying to d, I didnt want to seem like a worry wart parent (and Im not generally) but around water etc, geez. Like D says “it must be very liberating to be brainless and not think of these things.” LOL I love that statement tho.

Luckily I stayed behind for the party, I dont always but being an unfamilar parent/house and with k, I thought might be best. Am glad I did. Anyway it worked out fine, d got peace to work and the kids had a blast.

we took two boys back (they go to the same school) as I recognised one (and rang the mum to offer to take em back). so the boys enjoyed that. 5 boys in the car again. We sang michael jackson songs on the way back LOL I guess they’ve all been innundated with MJ songs with all the tributes etc and I dont mind It was quite jolly.

the kids went to bed pretty quick, j2 had another anxiety attack, this time cos a teacher said they didnt have name tags (I dont have enough for a shirt for each day of the week and I can’t order any more either). So I told j2 I will make sure that on a wed and mon we have shirts with name tags. but otherwise you tell the teacher that mum couldnt get to order any more name tags and thats how it is. If they have an issue with it, ask them to write me a letter instead. He’s gotta to stop these anxiety attacks, esp at BEDTIME. sigh.

we havent printed out the stuff to show the teacher yet. Since he was marked wrong for saying tomato is a fruit and he also argued with her that he read it in encyclopedias, on documentaries, cooking shows and mums cook books! She said its part of salads. he argued but you can have fruits in salad, not just vegetables! Sigh. So I think we shall choose something, print it out, and kindly pass it to the teacher for their FYI not wanting to make my kids be disrespectful of what a teacher teaches but still. If they know something is wrong, they should be able to prove it, no?

I guess it’s going to be something they will have to get used to in school. Im trying to prepare them for that but also not to discount teachers entirely. Oh well, they keeping me on my toes I guess. I must blog another day reg: what I learnt today from convos with parents of kids in sec school.

Well, two updates in a day, epic given my recent record!

Time for my own post party recovery, Im not even the involved parent LOL Have a great wk ahead all!

Oh looky another update LOL

The office repairs are done, the fish tank has been restored (fingers crossed all will be well again).

I’ve started the boys on an allowance. Each week they earn x amount which we note down in a book. Deductions are made when misbehaving or losing stuff etc. J1 needs to see some physical deductions etc. They still have their moneyboxes for coins etc (and for “special”).

For their bday this year, we’ve decided that they will get money in their boxes instead. I’ve told them since they have so many toys/stuff, we can do it this way and put it in savings. So if they want to save up for something special, it can be a combo of bday/Xmas and their allowance, but they have to do it themselves. The Js are eyeing their own gameboy/nintendo DS/psp but Im not buying that for them, not till older. So I said they can save up for it. I guess Im hoping to teach them to manage money better than I did/do. IF you want it, save for it, work for it. Let’s see how they go. It’s gng to take em a while to save up for it, so the age restriction may be good

We are taking em on a special outing (either Petrosains or Aquaria- which is so exp) on their bday anyway, no party this year. It’s easier to cope with in a way. One wants a party, the other doesnt. (guess which is which eheh). So we compromised on this. They still want a cake. A cake each! I was like, half half design lah.

So with allowances etc in mind, I’ve started asking (well not asking, getting them more like) to do more around the house. Help me with prepping meals, laying the table, taking the plates out. clearing table etc. Putting their clothes away etc. It’s been hit and miss. If there are no distractions, it works better. But they both love to help and for j1, with an added incentive of earning “extra” allowance, he’s been working hard

This morning he got breakfast (just crackers, he spread it with PB and jam) for himself and brothers. Nothing got broken, it wasn’t too messy. He got out the plates, used a kiddy knife etc. It was a nice surprise I asked him how come? he gave me a nice explanation “U told us that you can’t do everything for us all the time anymore, we need to help more. I’m almost 7 you know.” etc etc. Then I waited a while. He then said “Well, I was hungry 2.” hehe But I was glad for his help anyway and praised him accordingly.

Trying to get k to get back into doing his morning chores, he slacked a bit of late, partly cos his brothers dont always do it. We haven’t really given him an allowance (waiting till he’s 6years old). He does love to help, he helps grandma carry shopping, whatever it is. And he loves to help in the kitchen.

When I get my meal plan done, they will take turns helping me in the kitchen. I do need the help and they will do a good job generally. I have to bite down on my impatience and accept that it may take a biiitt longer now but eventually it will speed things up too! Ditto for their chores, It may be faster/more efficient if I do it, but heck, it’s time they learnt and I do need the help. So it’s been a learning process for all of us

We had durian yday at donald’s in ss2 which was nice j1 ate like an Ong He had more than CuddlyDaddy!! Hehe k prefered to have the mangosteens instead (he used to loooove durian but sometimes it’s mood. He did try a taste here and there so its ok.). j2 did eat but being who he is, he didnt wanna stay in a stall by the road. Complained here and there, whined. Told him he had to stay and try not to put every1 off. He has to learn that malaysians eat everywhere and sometimes the best stuff can be in the most nondescript place.

I guess he’s gotten used to a/c restr. or kopi tiams, time to break him of that tho (not just $$ wise). I’d like em to get used to all sorts of things (not that I’ll take him to dives or something hehe). It’s Malaysian. He’s Malaysian. I guess he likes things clean and bright and he worries about the loo (he tends to need to go pretty soon after eating).

He’ll toughen up. J1 likes it and k tends to follow the mood of his brothers. If the food is good etc, he tends to just eat Not much messes with his eating LOL In many ways, j1 is more emotionally mature than j2 or rather he grasps “older” concepts and can rationalise much better. J2 tends to be the anxious one who empathises with things he sees and observes. K’s.. a mix of the both with a dose of his own “tai kor” ness.

They have a classmate’s bday party today, if I can find it! It’s a beach style party with all manner of things. now that be interesting K’s “allowed” to come -j2 asked his classmate if he could bring k. She said suure! K has already made friends in the Js school, he’s not afraid of older kids etc. Js classmates think he’s soo cute and wave at him all the time.

Ok, time to get everything ready and head out once they come back from taekwondo!

Have a good week ahead all!

The long silence

I’m sorry people. I’ve been neglecting this blog.

Back from bali, sick kids, I haven’t even edited the pix as yet. Just trying to catch up with the whirlwind that seem to be my life. Short tweets or FB updates is about all I could managed.

I’ve taken stock of things and am aiming to now get back on track. Get our finances in order, get our biz expanding without getting us homeless hehe Time for the kids, decluttering, all manner of “stuff”.

J2 learned today how to work on his anxiety attacks. He had gotten worried over a recent accident at school (he’s not hurt), someone tripped up one kid, who fell against j2 who fell against someone else. the kid who was at the bottom of this “pile” hit the ground face down. They were worried at first he had broken his nose but it turned out to be just bruised and lots of scratches.

Teasing and kids accusing j2 of making kid A fall. That got to him, cos he’s a sensitive kid and empathetic and all that blood on kid A’s face freaked him out. Nightmares and crying on Fri. mon he panicked cos some kid had told him Kid A will come back and whack him cos it was his fault. Kid A was not in school on mon though.

When he did come back to school, he went up to j2. j2 hurriedly explained the situation etc saying its not his fault etc. Kid A said it was ok, he understood and left it at that. J2 couldnt stomach seeing his injuries tho. We got a call from the teacher saying j2 was sick. D went over. eventually we realised that it was more the fear etc. we let him rest at home (not got a lot of sleep worrying I guess). This morning, another anxiety attack cos he’s freaked over Kid A’s injuries. After long talks etc with us, we told him he has to face it. you can’t hide forever and you can’t stop having accidents. Sometimes it happens. After calming down, he said he’s gng to face it and go to school.

He bravely got ready, hands shaking and said “It’s just a normal day isn’t it Mum/Dad?”. He offered to take a biscuit for Kid A to share at recess. And he took a deepbreath before walking into the school compound. that’s my brave boy.

Im very proud of him. It’s not easy facing your fears, esp someone who gets as anxious as j2 and he sucked it up and met it full on. Good lad!!

Otherwise, we moving along. Some repair work to the office and then gotta clean up that mess and move things around. Then it’s full on getting our household finances back on track and then biz expansion plans etc. Sounds good eh? It’s going to be uphill, Ive been bad at budgets and keeping on top of things etc.

I may not be able to update as often (haha like I’ve been good so far). Ann, MoomyKin and DaddeeYeh, loved reading your stories etc. (and Mumsgather too!).

I’ll get to editing the pix real soon Going to see a play with MamaMin this week and babysitting for the other 2 Ks. over the wkend.

Hope all is well with everyone.

CF