Wednesday 28 November 2012

Bry POLICE! FREEZE!

you all know the temptations of online shopping. the wide range of goods, most of which are often not found in shops, and the savings.

i have been quite addicted to online shopping and it all started when dom was born. first, joining online spree for kiddy clothes, recently for bags and mobile casings for my beloved SII. i found this seller on Qoo10 (formerly known as Gmarket) for lego like toys and after reading the reviews (very impt if you are considering buying the products), i decided and shortlisted a number of sets.

there is great savings and you may argue that i am buying LEGO-LIKED toys and not LEGO. i got the boys transformers toys for their birthdays this yr and those were also lego-liked. anyway, i enlisted dom to select the final sets, he chose an army set for himself (not in my inital shortlist) and a police and fire engine sets for bry. bry is getting 2 as dom's set is more expensive and probably has a tanker + jeep + whatnots.

got out bry police set to build and true to the reviews, the parts dun fit very snuggly and i resorted to superglue to keep the part holding the front wheels from coming apart. overall, it is quite worth the money and the result is good. only other complaint i have is that there wasn't any instructions on where to stick the stickers!!! bry and i kept looking at the box (a very nice thick cardboard box) to figure out the positions but there are still some stickers which really stumbled us.



very happy with my purchase and can't wait to break out the fire engine and army sets.

Dom In Top 25%

just received a letter from MOE. dom is in the top 25% for Nan Chiau Pri Pri 1 cohort. his p1 cohort is 300 pupils.

i guessed all the hard work, tears and unhappiness over the past school year are all worth it.

let's hope i will have an easier time coaching him next yr.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

No Snacks Before Mealtime

most parents out there will agree with me that snacks should be avoided at all cost near mealtime. what are snacks? they are basically junk food that offer nothing good for the body but fill up the stomach, leaving the child unable to enjoy the benefits of a healthy meal.

now, i am not professing that i am the best cook or mum in the country/world but there are few rules i live by and expect kids to follow. no snacks before mealtime (esp when it is like less than 1hr to mealtime), toilet is not a playground, adults' words are final whether home or out etc. i spend time thinking of cooking reasonably healthy food for kids, you are what you eat, and expect them to finish at least 80% of it. not extreme right?

wrong! all thanks to genius who shared a bowl of dessert with dom 45mins before dinner time! genius used to say no snacks before mealtime. this is the damn classic case of you make them you break them, others follow till their heads fall off.

see what i have to put up with..... and sometimes i ask myself am i the only adult living in this house!

Thursday 22 November 2012

2012 Yr End Hols

yup the school holidays is here again, well at least for dom. bry is still attending childcare.

i took 3 days leave, 19-21 nov, to buy school supplies for dom P2 and managed to get most of the stuff. since i wasn't working and it was the holidays, i decided to use these 3 days to give the boys some time together.

on 19nov, i took them to the airport T1 Canopy for a fun-filled time. yanked bry out of childcare and we all took a short afternoon nap at home. by 2pm, we were ready to leave and reached the airport by 3pm. the boys love to take bus and we took 27 there. had a snack and went to Canopy for play. i made arrangement with grandparents to have dinner together at Astons and then we will take cab back together. bry loves to take cab and i decided to make it his day. grandparents were supposed to meet us around 6pm but they turned up around 4pm. i didn't manage to take much photos and the folder in my portable hard drive is giving me problems. this will be an ongoing post with updates.






this is a short vid o of boys playing at the playground. you may get neck strain from watching this but i am not sure how to right it.
there is a playground, which is quite similar in setup as Canopy, here at Compass Point. the problem is there you have to queue to purchase the tickets and there is always a long queue. on 21nov, i decided to give it a try and went there. i managed to purchase tickets for 6.20-6.50pm slot and brought the boys there after dinner.











personally i think Canopy is much better than this playground, but kids being kids love new stuff.

vids are coming soon. be patient

Friday 16 November 2012

For your (and my) own good

angry!!!

just gave a piece of work, doing a maths test paper from assessment book, to dom and in just 5min he is already asking for help. i been telling him since the start of the yr to learn to do his assignments (whether school or home) on his own, pretend that it is a class test etc. one whole yr!! i been telling him this for 1 whole school yr!

you may think that i am heartless and lazy etc to force a 7yr old to complete his assignments on his own. before you pass your judgement, take note that i do go thru the assignments with him once he has completed and during the time that he is doing them, i am doing the housework (not chatting or surfing the internet). and also, what is so wrong of me to "force" him to do work on his own? why must i help him be so dependent on others?

i told him time and time again that he must learn to complete assignments on his own. yes there will be questions that may stumble him, then he has to either choose the best answer or skip the question. his problem is that he thinks he must get all the questions correct (regardless of the subject being asked) and once he is stuck, he expect HELP or else he just simply give up MENTALLY and becomes dis-interested in completing the rest of the assignment. if he dun overcome this big weakness of his, then am i expected to follow him into the exam room or a call from him for help?

i am not heartless! i am trying to teach him and help him learn the right and correct attitude.

also, i have another goal to achieve. for dom to independently complete his assignments will free me to help bry once he is in primary one (dom will be in primary three). i have another yr (dom in primary two and bry in K2) to achieve this.

i am sure those of you who are parents yourself will agree with my current mode of action/teaching for dom.

Thursday 15 November 2012

Blessing Or Curse

just venting out some steam.

i am currently working part-time nite shift, 2 nites per week (usually mon and wed), and has been working such hours since feb 2008.

i have to admit that i am getting old, body probably feeling older than it's real age, and sometimes it is a struggle to drag my sorry self home after nite shift and face kids and stuff.

still, the work hours are a blessing when it comes to kids. it allows me to be able to be home during kids' wake hours and coach them thru some studies. for dom, it would be the primary one stuff; bry will be preparing him with K1. also, i dun really have to take note of when dom's school is closed for special events (marking days and such), especially when my schedule is determined about 1mth prior and school notices are only given at the beginning of the mth. i am also able to relieve my parents of child-minding and cook for kids.

still, it is also a curse as it takes a toll on my sleep patterns and body. sometimes, i just want to forget abt everything and go to bed. alas, this is now a once in a blue blue moon option. anyway, my only complaint is having to nag at dom daily/weekly on the same issues and i am especially frustrated on morns when i come back from work. having to remember and juggle his school assignments/assessments schedule and revision, plus whatever i need to do for both the house and bry, it can be quite overwhelming.

my biggest unhappiness stem from the fact that SOMEONE kinda of expect a 24/7 on-call service from both me and parents, especially on days when both kids are at home. this SOMEONE has taken this wonderful mis-guided attitude to the next level, not bothering to inform me in advance of whatever plans are in store.

i can force myself to handle my work and kids commitments but i draw a line at IRRESPONSIBLE EXPECTIONS.

ps: sorry, my brain is rather sleep-deprived when posting this post. but i think you get the general idea.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Pig... How True

Taken from a library book.


it says that those born in the year of the pig are known to be kind-hearted, gentle, honest, cute and easily pleased. quite true for bry

Thursday 8 November 2012

Dragon Babies

Kieran (younger bro son)



Sin Pok (older bro son)


A Teacher Is Impt

i must really mention that MRS LIANG, bry current K1 english teacher, is really an outstanding lady.

she is someone who really take teaching kids seriously, even when they are playful. bry has really blossomed and matured under her care.

if you recalled, bry asked for a whiteboard for his birthday (which i bought) and he has been using it to teach. re-enacting what he learnt in class and surprising us by spelling numbers up to thirty and the twelve mths. i think it is pretty amazing for a 5yr-old to do that. i know that i can't do that at his age.

a big thank you to this amazing lady for the positive influence that she has brought and will continue to bring into bry's life.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Kim Jong Kook's new album

the strongest running man, kim jong kook, has released a new album. for such a manly image that he has, his voice is surprising soft. some has even called him having a mosquito voice.



Friday 2 November 2012