reading before bedtime

Nel loves to ask her daddy to read, especially before bedtime. Yesterday I had a glimpse of what’s it like coz Nel was in my room. She grabbed a book off the shelf and told her daddy to read it. The book happened to be Gulliver’s Travels, the original classic version, in very very small font.

So both father and daughter rested on the bed as daddy read. I left them and went to shower Jo, prepared her for bedtime. When I got back to the room, I found Nel, half asleep. Her father (my husband :)) was reading, not chapter one, BUT the preface to Gulliver’s Travels, in the most monotonous voice I’ve ever heard. Low.....sleepy...... monotonous voice! He too looked half asleep like he’d just read the history book!!

I said loudly, Nel, “why in the world did you ask your dad to read Gulliver’s travels of all thing?” then turning to my husband I asked “and Hon! Why in the world are you reading the preface???”

Nel woke from her half slumber and said “mum, don’t disturb, I want dad to read so I can sleep!”

I was amused, I’d thought it’s coz she loved stories, but no, it’s coz the voice of her father has the powers to put my little one to sleep! Hmmmm….

I looked at my husband who had not replied to my question, but who’d continued reading in his monotonous voice, showing great disinterest in the preface to Gulliver’s Travels. He read like he was reading a legal document or something, and as his voice became lower, his eyelids almost closing, he struggled to read the very last paragraph in the Preface. And he read it like this:

“Gul-li-vers travels..was, (eyes half closing), like the most of (nodding off here)..like most of Sw…Sw..Swift’s work….(temporary silence) ano..anomy…anonous…anomy..amonynoy.....anonymously and is the….(eyes closed….)….is the…..(reading in his sleep now.)”

That’s when I interrupted again, “Nel, get to your room now, you’re almost asleep." Then turning to my husband I said quite loudly, "Hon, if you’d like to put Nel to sleep, read it to her in her room, and you can both fall asleep there.”

Hahahaha…..

The next day I asked Nel if she enjoyed Gulliver's Travels. She replied "who's Gulliver? did dad read me a story?" Oh, and when popping into Nel's room the next morning, I also noticed that Gulliver's Travels was opened to Chapter one, page one. I suppose that's when the father (my husband) fell into a deep sleep.

I lost it….I lost my temper last night, and poor Jo and Nel were the ones who had to face the brunt of my anger.

I’d just been tired, coz I’ve been down with a cold and headaches. So last night, after dinner, I escaped to my room, picked up a book to read. That’s how I unstress myself, by reading or blogging.

Jo came in, picked up a book about animals and nests and said “mum, read to me, read to me!”

I said “no, I’m not going to read that book to you. We just read it in the evening, and Nel read it to you twice today already.”

She kept bugging and bugging me. Jo’s like that, persistent in what she wants, knows what she wants.

Finally I replied angrily “if you won’t stop bugging me, I’ll leave this room, so stop it now!”

She kept at it, bugging me to read the book.

Finally I stood up and said “That’s it! I’ve had enough!”

I stomped out of the room and headed towards the guest room. Little Jo followed behind, screaming and crying “wait mum, wait for me, please mum….”

I shut the door, locked it and heard Jo screaming outside.

Her dad came up and asked “what’s going on??”

Finally, feeling a little regret, I unlocked the door and came out. Took Jo to the room with me. Jo started venting her feelings, my little 3 year old.

“Mum, I only wanted you to read the book. You walked away! Mum, you don’t like me, you don’t like me.” She said sadly while sobbing.

Jo continued “You read your book, but you didn’t want to read mine. Daddy is a good daddy, he read my book.”

I asked “does that make me a bad mummy?”

She replied “Yes, you are a bad mummy, coz you walked away, and you don’t like me.”

Realising that she genuinely felt hurt, I replied “Jo, I do love you, just that sometimes I Need time to do my own things, read my own books.”

“but you walked away. That means you don’t like me.” Said Jo with a sad face..

I looked at her and said “Jo, …….”

“Jo, I’m sorry I hurt your feelings…I didn’t mean to, I’m just really tired today. Forgive me Jo?”

She nodded quietly.
I suppose with my little girl, walking away is not a good solution. I will have to find a different way to cope when I’m tired the next time.

Nel's graduation

In the past, I could never understand parents who made such a big deal about their children's graduation, particularly children graduating from kindergarten! I thought the parents were "kiasu", crazy and made it too big a deal. i mean, come on! it's just kindergarten for pete's sake!
i used to tell them relax, there's like 12 years of school and at least 4 years of college to go!

Well...I used to think that way, till my own Nel had a graduation ceremony of her own in kindy, just this last weekend. haha.....

So there I was, an over excited mother, armed with her camera, dressed in Sunday best. We made sure to get there early, but ALAS! there were much much more over zealous parents who had booked most of the front row seats! darn I thought.

Anyway..... so Nel and gang went up on stage to present a poem they had practiced for weeks! and she and her classmates also performed a dance item. I was definitely a proud mum. hahahaha....

And then, of course, came the "graduation" ceremony. hehehe...... and oh boy, I'm embarassed to admit that I became just like one of the other parents whom I'd criticized before. I stood up and cheered for my daughter as she received her scroll and teddy bear. I was also a very proud mum when she received the Best in Reading award. I took lots of pictures, and I'm even blogging about it! ( I know...I sound like a bragging mum now!)

I know, some of you are gonna tell me "big deal!" just like how I used to think of other parents.

Thing is this....now I realise those parents were just cheering their children on. WHen I went to Nel's graduation ceremony, I just wanted to be there to let her know that I love her. I wanted to clap and cheer to let her know that everything that mattered to her, matters to me. I wanted to cheer for every little step she takes.

I suppose most parents do that. we boast about our kid's first smile, the first time they roll over, and crawl and take their first steps. Kindergarten is also another step, and so I continue to cheer her on. So bother if people are gonna think I'm "kiasu" or whatever.....hehehe.... We even took her to Burger King to celebrate! hahaha...

*for G, literally translated "kiasu" means, afraid of loosing. Like most mums are "kiasu" and they make sure they send their kids for tonnes of classes so that their children do better than other kids."

update on Jo

As I was cleaning up my blog, I came across this recording I made of Jo's singing when she was exactly 2 years old.
http://www.soundupload.com/audio/s6tab3dwmp

I listen and I'm pretty amazed. :) She's still singing a lot...loves to sing. Also very sensitive to sounds. When a recording is on, she asks about the sounds in the background, if they're flute/strings/drums/guitar... She insists that she likes the guitar and trumpet.

Also found this recording of her reciting verses when she was 2 years and 2 months old.
http://www.soundupload.com/audio/05bo52vk06

She remains as strong will as ever although her tantrums have decreased tremendously! (phew!) They went away because I chose to ignore most of her tantrums and did not give in.

Currently she is crazy about princesses. She insists on wearing only certain dresses and it is quite hard to make her wear something she doesn't like.
She's also fascinated with this book about hibernation, particularly about how the dormouse hibernates. And thus, this mummy (me) has now read that particular book, several times a day for several weeks now!

Yesterday Jo was extremely quiet....and finally I found her under the blanket lying down very quietly. I asked her what she was doing and she replied "I'm a dormouse mum, I'm hibernating. Don't disturb me."

Nel my caring child

For some of you who’ve read my old blog, you’d remember this story I once wrote about the time just before I gave birth to Jo (3 years ago now!).

It was way past midnight and I just could not sleep because I found it difficult to breath and I had terrible back aches. So I went to the bedroom sofa and just sat there. Nel woke up. Realizing I wasn’t on the bed, she asked “are you ok mum?”

I explained to her why I wasn’t sleeping. She went to the bed, grabbed a few pillows and brought them to me. “Here mum, put one behind your back. Do you feel better now mum?” she asked caringly. She passed me two more pillows and told me to put it under each arm, and then brought me her tiny stool and told me to put my foot on it to rest.

Then she asked very gently “do you feel much better now mum?” I felt deeply touched by her actions and thoughtfulness. She climbed right by me and asked “can I stay here with you mum?” I nodded my head, and she fell asleep with her little head resting on my shoulders, her hands holding mine. That was Nel at age 3.

She’s still the same very caring person. Only thing is that she’s now 6. With that comes a whole load of new emotions which sometimes seem a little overwhelming for her. There are days she gets moody and easily frustrated. She gets upset when she notices people whispering while looking her way, she gets very hurt if adults talk about her in front of her, she doesn’t like people laughing at her etc etc etc. However, she IS trying to cope with these reactions…and on certain days she manages to brush these feelings aside. But there are also days she gets hurt and stomps off or cries.

On the positive side, she is very caring and aware of other people’s needs. We still visit the retirement home once a month or once every 2 months. Though always a little shy at first, she eventually goes round holding the hands of the elderly folks there. I can tell you, they love her visits.

Then just yesterday, I had a major headache, more like migraine. Jo was the usual active self, disturbing me, pretending to be an owl and then a lion the next minute. Talking to herself letting her wild imagination run. Nel came in and told Jo to be quiet. Finally hubby decided to take both kids out.

Immediately Jo climbed on her daddy’s back, ready to go out. Nel however, lingered on a little…. She asked “mum…will you be ok here on your own? Are you sure you’ll be ok?”
I said “Yes, Nel I’ll be ok, you go enjoy yourself.”

Then she noticed that the bathroom door was open, letting the glaring light in. She asked “mum, would you like me to close the door and switch off the lights?” I nodded, and she closed the door quietly. She lingered on still a bit…. And then said “Mum, I’ll miss you…your hugs….”

I smiled and said “go with dad, he’s waiting. Enjoy yourself .”

She tiptoed out quietly, shut the door gently and went to the shops with dad.
(so emotional isn't she?......)

I came home yesterday and found a lovely sunflower from my husband. There was also a wedding anniversary card, written and signed by Nel on behalf of my husband, jo and my husband. haha..... :)

hubby and I also had a date at KLCC to watch the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra ....

all for our 8th Wedding Anniversary....

Happy Wedding Anniversary hon...love ya...

last weekend we decided to head to Bukit Cahaya in Shah Alam for some jungle experience. Part of our mission was to visit the 4 seasons house, which is currently featuring Autumn. It did not turn out as planned.

First we walked in the hot hot hot sun. Passed the padi fields...which was interesting (although children were really, more absorbed in their ice cream and the scarecrow.)

Padi is really almost ready for harvesting. So I plucked some and showed kids the husk and rice inside.
Then we walked on in the hot hot sun, towards the animal farm. Viewed porcupines, horses, deers, guinea pigs, birds.

Walked on in the very hot hot sun.....and then we heard it.

Kaboooooooooommmm!!!! Brrrrooooooooooommmmmmmm!!!!

Thunder roared through that forest, warning us of the imminent storm, despite the hot hot sun. Within seconds it started becoming very very windy.

I shouted out to Mil and our kids, "walk faster! walk faster! we've gotta get to the house with Four seasons. It's featuring Autumn now. Walk faster!!"

Alas, our kids saw a hanging bridge, couldn't resist, had to detour to cross that one. They did not cross just once, but several times back and forth!

Crossed it....

more Loud, thunderous warnings resounded through the whole forest............

I yelled "walk faster, walk faster!"

We walked as fast as the little ones could go, youngest being Dudu (2 years) and Jo (3). Mind you these little shorties can walk quite fast and for a good long distance!

Then we saw the sign , Autumn House 50 meters away. It started to drizzle. We saw a small drink stall ahead. I yelled "faster, faster!!" The last of us got under that stall and it POURED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! real heavy heavy rain.

It was dark, windy and rainy. Thank God we had shelter. waited for More than an hour! Rain turned to drizzle, park was closed. Didn't want to risk being shut in there, we decided to walk in the drizzle out.

We had not hats/umbrellas, so I made Little Jo put on this shirt on her head, and we walked......a long way... out. That was our day at the park.

Simple Science project at Tasik Biru

Drove to Tasik Biru Kundang. (If going there, it's near Sg Buluh, in an area called Kuang.)

Somehow the lake is not as blue as it used to be anymore. It's more like green now, and the water is getting a little dirtier. Still it is a nice place for a picnic. THere were lotsa kampung kids diving into the lake, doing summersaults and water gymnastics.


we brought with us.... Lemang and rendang, nuggets for the kids, water and a change of clothes.
(Lemang - rice cooked in bamboo poles. This one's been taken out of the bamboo and cut for us)In the tupperware is the rendang (like beef curry...totally delicous if you can take spicy food)

Our objective of heading to that lake was to have a good time, to relax and help Nel with a simple Science project.


Project was - to discover things that float/sink. For this we brought: egg cartons, styrofoam, bottles, wooden spatulas, rope and tape.


The egg carton went in first. Of course at first it float . Nel placed a rock on it, stepped on it and it eventually sank. Now she knows, paper stuff eventually absorbs water and sink.
(pic missing)

Finally dad helped her create this simple boat (3 bottles and 2 spatulas). She put her dolly on it, and had a fun time pulling her dolly in the little boat...


Nel setting her dolly on sail. Someone told me, it looked like the reenactment of the Baby Moses among the reeds story. haha...


Later we discovered that her dolly didn't need the boat as it can float by itself too.




Next, pulled her dolly in the styrofoam which was spacious with a little hole in the middle for dolly to sit. Nel asked "Mum, this has a hole, but it can float. Why then, does a boat sink when it has a hole?"

Enjoyed the water a little more, and then headed home.


was a beautiful day.....i think kids love learning science this way, instead of being cooped up in a room learning from text books. Am planning for more such projects.

Sepang Gold Coast Beach

Have been on several short day trips recently... mostly nature trips.... I have this believe that part of my job as a mother is to get them to love nature places and to appreciate the beautiful things GOd has made.

Last week we went to the Sepang Gold Coast Beach (about 15 mins from the F1 circuit in Sepang). Someone told me that it was more like a swamp area.... Anyway, we went to check it out. What we found was major development going on. They're building chalets on water...

Anyway there were 2 main picnic areas. Ok, honestly my bro rated it the World's Worst Beach (and that's partly coz he suffered a deep gash in his feet after stepping on an oyster shell, pointing upwards, hidden in the mud. OUCH!!!) . .Anyway, i think it's a wonderful learning place for children. At low tide, the water recedes several kilometers, uncovering the muddy bed of the sea. Thus it became a learning site for the kids.

Some parts were so muddy, we found our feet sinking till mud covered our ankles. Lovely thing is the children found all sorts of muscles, lalas, cockershells, and even beautiful Sand dollars!

I was excited when I found the long sea worms. (That's what I call em.) It brought back memories of childhood. My dad used to be an avid fishing kaki. We went fishing at lakes, ponds and seaside. My job was always to hunt for worms for my dad. I remember digging through mud at low tide to hunt for these very long thin worms. So to see them made me so excited! I'm not sure if my kids were excited as me, but now they know you can find worms under the bed of the sea! haha..

WE also talked to a fisherman there. He told us that before the construction began he used to yield about 4 kgs of lalas (clams, muscles..) Now he's down to only about 1 kg. :(

Anyway....the sunset was quite lovely, and we bought some kites to fly....followed by a really delicous finger licking good dinner consisting of a variety of seafood...

Here's some pics...... A word of caution .....if your kids are going there...you'll need lotsa sunblock, hat, and if you have boots better... coz i think bcause of the construction there...some bricks and stuff get buried in the mud. And bring lotsa water and a change of clothes.

The beach at low tide (notice how far the water receeds..caution, do not go too far out. Fisherman warned us, coz some people had been stranded on portions of the beach before when caught unaware by the rising tide.)

fisherman's son/grandson digging for lalas

L throwing sand into the sun

little Jo looking for her share of shells

sunset

nxt post will be on Kuala Selangor Nature Park (we were there just yesterday)