Disappearing act. Peeling garlic act.

Yeap, I've disappeared for a while. I've kind of migrated to FB for most of my updates where I can limit my posts to selected group of friends. Over the Chinese New Year break, I met a friend who asked why I stopped "writing".

To begin with, I don't write. The few "writing" episodes in the newspaper many years ago was by chance. It was just articles I submitted just for the fun of it. I don't have the intention to keep on blogging. It started basically as my personal mission to keep memories in writing where I can reflect back on the things that have happened, to give memories to my children on a (not-so-private) journal in my journey on motherhood and my personal rants in life. 

Concentrating hard to peel garlic

I showed my children, who can now read, this blog, and they kind of enjoyed reading some of the 'stories'. This has also prompted them to write their own diary everyday. As Brendan says, "I also want to keep track of the things I do so that when I am big one day, I can look back at what I did as a child".

Ok, children, you will know some personal stories which I keep in a private journal. You can also continue coming back in here anytime to read my journey, and your baby/childhood stories which will be kept in limited updates. 

My lovely children, found it entertaining to read interesting stories of themselves as babies. 

Anyway, Brendan caught me by surprised when he suddenly sat down at the kitchen table last week to help me peel garlics. Lots and lots of it. Motherhood does springs its surprises at times. After half an hour, he decided to call it quits, finding it too tiring to continue any further. He says, "This is hard work."

Brendan's value of money

As I watch my kids grow day by day, I am reminded of their uniqueness and the special personality in them. They never fail to amaze me with surprises every now and then.

When it comes to money, I've come to realise that Brendan will be someone who would be very careful with his money. He doesn't really know how big the value of money can grow but he can be quite frugal when it comes to money sense.

Just recently, while we were having pan mee for dinner, a salesman walked into the restaurant and showed my kids some toys.

I've always taught my kids that we should never shun these people and the least we can do is just smile and politely decline them as they've spent hours walking around shops and restaurants trying to sell their stuffs. At times, I'd kind of threaten them that they would have to resort to that if they refuse to study hard. hehehehe.

Anyway, Eryn gave the man a smile and shook her head, implying a "no" when the man showed her a toy aeroplane.

The man then walked to Brendan and showed him a car. Brendan being Brendan, just continued eating his pan mee. The man continued, "RM10 only".

Brendan blurted out "RM10?!! Soooo expensive!! I can buy 8 honey apples with RM10".

Now, I could have scolded him for answering the man, but it was really funny to see the man's reaction and we all just have to laugh at the scenario.

Just a few months back, I remember Brendan asking me to take him to the bank as he kept saying that he's got a transaction to do. I kept saying "later" until  I finally asked him why did he keep asking me to take him to the bank.

He said that he's got some money to put in the bank and then I asked him how much. He replied, "RM12". I told him that he's got to have at least RM100 before he come asking me to take him to the bank as it would be a waste of petrol and time and having to pay for parking. So, I gave him a little piggy bank for him to keep his money. He said he'd rather keep it in his wallet which he kept in a special place.

And then, there was this time last year when I was planning to change car. I told the kids about the cost of living, the rate of inflation, expenses going up and we shouldn't spend on an expensive car. Brendan said, "Mummy, I want to buy you a car. Do you think RM8 can buy you a big car?" Gosh, I'm so touched. He actually took out all the money in his wallet and gave them to me. I told him a car cost more than that and we would need a 5-figure amount for that. He can't seem to comprehend anything more than a thousand, or maybe even a hundred and kept asking how do people even afford to buy a car or a house.

He doesn't get pocket money for school cos I pre-ordered food from the canteen for him, so that he doesn't have to queue and rush to eat in his 20 minutes recess. There is a coin box which I told him he can take some coins out if he needs to buy anything extra and he'd just brush it off and say he doesn't need it as the uncle in school always give him too much food.

And just a few hours ago, Brendan said, "Mummy, when my birthday comes, please don't buy me a cake. It's not good to eat too much cake right?" Oh dear!! There he goes again. So, I said, "ok, then maybe we go and celebrate over a simple dinner". He went on and said, "Ok, but don't spend too much. We should save money. Maybe we can go to Disneyland one day".

Oh! That's my boy!! He makes me want to cry for being way so sensible and matured for an eight years old boy.

Missing Brendan and pole dancing.

It's the school holidays and Brendan took the bus home together with my mum approximately yesterday afternoon. And now, I'm beginning to miss him. He will be there for about a month for this school holiday while Eryn will be with me at home.

It's a funny feeling not having around this time though I don't really feel anything while he is at daycare and at school. He seldoms get to see grandma now since he's started primary school and grandma is his number one favourite person in the whole wide world! He was feeling extremely happy and was jumping and singing and twirling and wriggling last night and this morning, going, "Yeah yeah, I'm going back to Kluang, I'm going back to Kluang!!"....

Well, I'll be going back as well soon but just for a few days before Eryn and I come back home without Brendan. We'll have him back before school start and life would be back to normal - noisy, nerve-wrecking, nagging and all, but I kinda miss that now actually. 

Quite recently, Brendan overheard the word "pole-dancing" on tv and asked me what is pole-dancing. I explained to him what it meant and how some people does it, using their thighs and legs to swing around the pole and using their body to hang upside down. He found that amusing.

Not long after that, we were at a hypermarket and Brendan suddenly ran to the pole and showed me his pose, asking me whether what he does is something like pole-dancing. I quickly took my hp camera out and snapped a pic of him. This will set as a memory in the many years to come as I reflect back on the things he said and do. haha... My funny boy!

Happy holidays everyone, and have a safe journey for those travelling for your hols.

Brendan turns 7 today.

When I gave Brendan his birthday present last night, I saw my last 7 years flashed by just like that. It  will never fail to amaze me each time I look back to the day I first become a mother.

Brendan had wanted a Wii but we are still quite reluctant to get it. Well, at least not for his birthday present. I told Brendan that we'll get the Wii one day but not for his birthday. Then he said, "Mummy, if you can't afford to get me the Wii, just get me some stationaries will do and oh, take me out kai-kai too. You can save the money first."

Awww.... Brendan is always so considerate when it comes to buying things, especially expensive stuffs. So, I got him some Ben 10 stationaries and a new Super Yoyo to replace the spoilt one I bought for him two months back.

I also ordered a cake from the kids' ex-nanny, who stays nearby. I wasn't particular on any design or taste and gave her the free hand to do a simple one for Brendan. She is a good cook and a good baker (she bakes lovely cookies and home-made mooncake to sell as well). We were surprised when she baked Brendan a cute cake instead. It has three little teddies on it. She has recently taken interest in fondant decoration and she said that this was her first time making a 3D cake. She actually gave us the cake for free as a gift for Brendan. That was so sweet of her..

We celebrated the night at the newly opened Fireman BBQ steamboat buffet restaurant in Bandar Puteri with some of hubby's close friends. Will blog about this place later.

Happy 7th Birthday, Brendan!

A cute cake given by a friend. Brendan's name was wrongly spelt with an "E" instead of an "A"  but it didn't really matter for the special effort taken to make the cake and the fun and love that came with it.

Tons and tons of homework

Lately, Brendan has been having a lot of homework and I noticed that this normally happens a few weeks before any school exam were to start. His last semester exam will be starting next week. Thus, I'm not surprised at the many homework he brought back home..

He normally tries to finish his homework in school in-between classes while waiting for the teacher, but there are times, the workload is extremely heavy! I really wonder why kind of education system is the government instilling into the kids. I mean, he's only in standard one! Hmm.. maybe I'm too laid back cos I remember not doing much homework in my primary school days.

Do I have a choice? Unfortunately, I don't really have one as private school is not within my means, and this is the only school I feel is more suitable for Brendan. Besides, he's coping quite well and doing quite well in his studies as well. In fact, he even enjoy doing his homework! sigh!

He used to have difficulty doing his homework when he first started primary school. Now, he doesn't need any guidance as he's used to it and would normally finish his homework before he reaches home. If he can't finish them in school, he will proceed to take out all his homework books the moment he reaches home and will want to finish them as fast as possible way before dinner and showering.

I have to always remind him that dinner and shower should come first before homework, but he's so engrossed in his homework until I have to start nagging at him to leave his homework and do it later. I'll tell him that it is ok to continue it the next morning if he can't finish.

What about your kids? Are they heavily laden with homework too?



Brendan does enjoy doing his homework. Wierd..



Thank you, please come again.

My 6 and a half years old son, Brendan, can read very well and he likes reading signboards, posters, names of shops and anything that captures his razor-sharp eyes whenever we are out for meals, shopping, or merely window-shopping. And yes, that includes receipts too!

The first time he saw a receipt with the words "Thank you, please come again", he said that we should go back again to the shop we were visiting. He kept insisting and reminding us to go to the shop again until daddy got fed-up and told him to just keep quiet. He then showed us the receipt and said that we really have to come back again as what was mentioned in the receipt (see pic below).

Nowadays, he'll still continue telling us that whenever he spots the words on our shopping receipts and then asked why would they want us to go back again?

Last night, we went to Tesco to do some grocery shopping and Brendan started screaming, "Mummy! Mummy! We must buy this and this and this and this!!" Oh well, of course I said "No" but he kept pushing for me to buy the various types of frozen food in the freezer and went on showing us what was shown on the freezer. The words "Must Buy" were pasted on it! Eryn quickly ran to the freezer and started spelling out the words loudly and joined in the chorus with her brother, "Must buy! Must buy!" hahahaha.

Brendan, ooooh Brendan!!

Brendan and value of money

DH and I don't believe in pampering our kids too much especially when it comes to toys. DH's friends gave us a lot of lego sets and lots of little cars as their sons have all grown up. Brendan loves playing with those toys and masak-masak with his little sister as well. Eryn is comfortable playing those little boy's toys with Brendan, but mostly love dressing up her Barbie doll, also a hand-me-down, or playing house with another baby doll.

Last night, I saw Brendan staring and looking at a tiny lego brochure and started asking me what are those toys for and the difficult pronounciation of the names of some of those toys. After a while, this is how the conversation goes ;

Mummy : Brendan, which one is your favourite in this brochure?
Brendan : Hmm..... I think this one.
Mummy : Ok, what if mummy buy one of this for you?
Brendan : It's ok, I don't want one.
Mummy : Well, I can buy you a small one, but you must take good care of it.
Brendan : No, lah... Don't want lah, I scared afterwards you got not enough money to use.

Well, I'm stunned. I wonder where did he get that kind of idea?

Another scenario in Toys R Us ;

Eryn : Mummy, I like Toys R Us, they have so many toys. Can we stay here longer? I like this one, mummy.
Mummy : Oh! This is so expensive! You all can see but don't ask me to buy. I'll get what I want to get for you all.
Brendan : Mei-Mei, don't simply buy lah. All these toys very expensive one. Afterwards you spoil it then wasted only. We go home and play cars and masak-masak k?
Eryn : I don't want!! I don't want!! I want to stay here longer!!
Brendan : Come lah mei-mei. Mummy wants to go to work already lah. We stay here so long already.

And another scenario;

Brendan : Mummy, how much is a car? I got a lot of money here. RM10 enough or not? Your car so old already lah, I buy for you ok?
Mummy : haha... RM10 only? Where got enough? You need a lot a lot of money.
Brendan : How many zeroes you need?
Mummy : At least 4 zeroes. Maybe one 8, and 4 zeroes.
Brendan : Which is more expensive? Car or house? I buy a house leh?
Mummy : House even more expensive. You need 5 zeroes.
Brendan : But house no need to pump petrol. It should be cheaper.

Sigh! That's my boy and his occasional money talk. Kind of reminds me of my brother when he was young.

School has re-opened

It's been a week since school re-opened. Brendan was happy to go back to the same kindy he attended last year.

I'm not surprised with the many books that he brought back home but I was surprised that one of his book is a standard one book! I'm even more shocked at the content as they are so much more difficult that it was when I first started kindergarten at 6 years old.

The funny thing is, despite having so much textbooks and so much books nowadays, the standard of a lot of teachers are deteriorating and most students can't even speak proper English! I was told by the principal that all these textbooks are preparation for Brendan when he enter Primary one next year! Wow!!

I remember attending tuition the year that I sat for SPM. I've known some parents who has started sending their children to tuition as young as 6 years old. Gosh, am I laid-back or what? I wonder what has gone wrong with our education system, and I do certainly wonder how would my children cope in school - with the tons of homework and carrying that heavy bag behind their bag in the not too distant future.

Here's a pic of Brendan's textbooks. The exercise book has not been taken into consideration.

Brendan is 5!

Brendan is 5 day! I brought a small cake and some sweets, chocs and jelly to the principal to celebrate it during his morning tea break together with his classmates and teachers.

Brendan is quite cool about it and didn't even ask me for a present. We intend to give him a small surprise family celebration on Sunday. I am actually quite glad that he's really quite humble not to ask for anything at all. He was more than happy to have the tons of birthday wishes from his kong-kong, poh-poh, his favourite uncle and auntie (my siblings) and of course the 2 birthday cakes he had today - one in school and a special one made by the nanny.

I almost bought another one just now, but decided that he would be feeling very 'jelak' after all those cakes.

My boy is five. It just seems like yesterday when I carried him as a little baby in my arms.....

Credits here

Brendan's first sports day

It was Brendan’s school’s sports day last Saturday. The number of students in that preschool is so huge that the sports day have to be held at a nearby primary school field.

The day started with the performance by the 5 year olds and the 6 year olds students who danced to the tuned of Hey, Mickey and Mambo No. 5.

Like all parents, I was pretty proud of Brendan, who played one of the instruments in the Mambo No. 5 performance. Well, not too bad, for a 5 year old.

I was extremely surprised to see the youngest child to be around the age of 2, or probably even less, judging from the way the cute little boy walked in his little toddler’s shoes. It’s simply amazing that children are being sent to preschools and daycares as young as 2! (or probably even younger). He had the opportunity to participate in the sports events as well, with the help of a teacher who held him by the hands.

Brendan’s participation in the sack race actually caused an embarrassment to his group due to his slowness and moody look. He started the day full of enthusiast and mid-way, he was already getting pretty moody. Oh boy!

I actually felt really disappointed cos I was a school athlete myself, having won numerous medals and trophies during my school days. I was a sprinter, a netball achiever, a superb long-jumper and a hurdler. But my dear son somehow didn’t inherit this little sports genes from his mummy.

Anyway, I shouldn’t expect too much from him, as I know all child are different. I’m still proud that he went through with all the hassle to be part of the mini orchestra and the gunny sack race. I felt bad for his team mates who were cheering him on.

But he’s my little boy, my champion, regardless of what happened. He did his best, and that’s all that matters.

The fun part of the whole sports day was when the D.J. announced for the volunteers of 15 parents to take part in a game against the teachers. He even hinted to get at least 3 fathers to participate which will guarantee a win. More than 15 parents volunteered. And the game….? Well, it was the tug-of war between the 15 female teachers and 2 male supporters against the more than 15 parents who won within seconds! Oh gosh, it was a funny sight.

Never-ending homework

There seems to be quite a number of homework to do for Brendan. There was one time, when he came back with 5 homeworks - English writing, BM writing, numbers writing, coloring and chinese!

Before Brendan started his daycare, he used to dread doing his homework at night. I tend to lose my cool when I wanted to do my own things and he was getting tired of his homework.

Eversince he started daycare after school, he finished his homework in school with the personal guide of his teacher.

After daycare, he can actually asks for more colouring homework to do! He enjoys doing homework now though I only limit him to basic reading and colouring. I wonder what got into him. Maybe my teaching method is wrong, or maybe I'm just plain lazy and impatient to go through this homework.

Brendan is bad in spelling and reading, but loves painting. He took after both daddy and mummy in the arts department cos' I love drawing and painting when I was young. Daddy is also a good artist as well. Well, afterall, I took after my dad who is a superb artist.

Eryn, on the other hand, also took after me in the music and sports department. Eryn can really run, and run, and run, so unlike Brendan who is always complaining of getting tired.

"Lei, on de lei, on de lei...."

When the kids and I went back to my parents' place recently, my dad taught Brendan to sing a verse from "The Lonely Goatherd", a well-known song sung by Julie Andrews in the movie, The Sound of Music.

If you know the first two lines of the song, it goes like this :

High on a hill was a lonely goatherd
Lay-ee odle lay-ee odle lay hee hoo

The first time I heard him sing it I couldn't stop laughing...

I tried correcting Brendan but he keeps insisting to sing it his way! Boy, oh boy!! so stubborn, but it's so funny..

Heaven?

A few days ago, while we were having dinner at home, Brendan suddenly blurted out about his friend's daddy who has just "gone to heaven".

Brendan : My friend, ................. (name protected)'s daddy just gone to heaven.
(daddy and mummy was shocked stared at each other)
Mummy : Heaven? Why do you say that Brendan?
Brendan : Because my friend's daddy died and that's why after he dies, he goes to heaven?
Daddy : Why did your friend's daddy die?
Brendan : I dunno (his favourite sentence). He just died and cannot wake up anymore, so he went to heaven.

Hmm....... food for thought....

Professions

One day, when I took Brendan back from school, the teacher told me something really amusing.

The topic for that day was "Occupation". The teacher asked Brendan whether he would like to be a doctor when he grows up, so that she could go and visit Brendan and she is old and sick. Brendan immediately answered, that he doesn't want to be a doctor. "Why?" his teacher asked.

"I want to be an engineer like Uncle Kim Leong", says Brendan.

Now, daddy is also an engineer, but he'd rather be an engineer like Uncle Kim Leong (my brother) than like his daddy! How comforting that is to daddy! haha.

Brendan's teacher then asked him, "What is your mummy's occupation?"

Brendan replied, "My mummy is a boss".

Gosh, he was the talk among the teachers with that innocent reply.

Seriously, I do not know where he get that from. Hmm.....

ang mo slang.

The other day, Brendan's teacher told me something which really made me laughed.

She said that Brendan's chinese pronounciation got an ang mo slang. There are times when she wants to laugh in class but has to control it so as not to embarass Brendan and also the fact that she's teaching in the class.

Brendan's speak Mandarin quite fluently though we rarely speak Mandarin at home. Eryn hasn't start preschool yet, but she and Brendan can communicate with each other in Mandarin pretty well.

It's pretty wierd where Brendan gets his ang mo slang from cos my side of the family speaks Mandarin without the slang.

Anyway, the teacher has long controlled her laughter and when she relayed the story to me, we both exploded into laughter.

We later heard Brendan saying good bye to his teacher, "Lao3 shi1, Zhai4 Zhuan4" (if you understand han yi pin yin, notice the pronounciation for zhai4 zhuan4). Gosh, why does he has to roll his tongue to make it more complicating... hahaha

3D Art

Brendan got this lovely gift from Jeriel - a 3D paper art puppy which he kept asking me to fix for him.

After making a promise that I'll fix it for him, I finally got down to fix it and it was so extremely difficult to do it due to the folding of the lines and glueing some of the parts together.

I was getting quite agitated cos I was supposed to meet a friend but ended cancelling the appointment after spending about 2 hours just to fix this little puppy for him.

Brendan treasures this little paper puppy so much that he insists that I put it high on top of the shelf to avoid spoiling it in case it is left lying around.

Seeing that he was happy with the results, I too was glad that my one-to-one time with him was very much well-spent.

Brendan turns 4

Brendan turns 4 yesterday and he treated his friends to some snacks at his preschool. My boy has grown and I know he'll grow up very fast.

There wasn't a birthday party for him this year, nor were there many presents for him. He seems quite contented with it and didn't ask for more, esp. for a little question to his aunt, "Where's my present, Auntie Mei Chin?"

I've been thinking of him alot lately, esp. when he has this disturbing cough that has been going on for 3 months. He's been to the doctor twice and the next 2-3 weeks, if he doesn't improve, the doctor indicated that it could be due to some sinus problem.



I slept late thinking about this and now, I'm still up - thinking about him. I've also been noticing that his lips turn a little blue when he exerts himself. The doctor says that his lungs are ok and that we should keep a look out on the discoloration when he tires himself out. I spent time reading about such symptoms on the internet and the more I think about it, the more I can't sleep!



Brendan is 4 and he's no longer a baby. I pray for good health and lots of happiness, peace and love in your life, my dear son. Blessed birthday to you, Brendan...

*Ring Ring*

When I read Jess' stating that Lyon has been calling me, I realise that this has been happening to me as well.

Sometimes, I get missed calls from home and sometimes, Brendan will just call to say "hello" and "bye" and he'll repeat the process again and again until I have to scold him! Imagine that you are in a meeting and he keeps calling and calling just for the fun of it.

I am happy that Brendan knows how to call mummy, but the timing can just be not so right! I do wonder whether he really knows how to dial my number or maybe he just press the redial number. Initially, I knew that he dialled the redial number, but recently, I noticed that there were no calls from home prior that.

I tried to test him to dial the number in front of me and he says he doesn't know. So, how did he dial my number?

Brendan & pre-school

It's been a wonder how kids just tend to develop so fast at their own pace... I tried to get Brendan down to writing his "A", "B", "C" and all, but he just refuse to budge.

As my mum was getting quite tired with Brendan whining at home, I decided to send Brendan to a pre-school sometime in April this year. And surprisingly, within 2 weeks, he could write A, B, C, etc... and write his own name!! Gosh, either I can't teach, or he picked things up real fast in those 2 weeks.

Now, it's been approximately 5 months, and he could write so many words, read, speak in BM and Mandarin. So naughty, so stubborn, so tiring and yet so smart, so attentive and so full of surprises!

He'll be coming up to KL soon to start his year 5 pre-school next year. I'm now just cracking my head to think of the options available. And speaking of that, it's also the year where I have to register him for primary school! Dilemma dilemma dilemma..... Chinese School? National School? Hmm.....

My brother's wedding

My one and only brother finally got married about 3 months back. So, this is an overdue post.

My sister-in-law is someone who is really down to earth, maintaining a very low profile and is always ever so generous and kind-hearted, never failing to be nice to everyone around her. She's got this lovely glow on her face, being so patient and understanding.

The wedding was quite a big affair for the family, with the dinner guests totalling 50 tables. My mum's side happened to be a big group as my late maternal grandparents had 13 children. It was a fun affair especially for the younger children, which means it's playtime with lots of balloons, running around and abundance of fun with all the grand-cousins to play with.