Project Fish (1)

1. Buy some hardy tropical fishes -at least 2, we all need friends
   Buy aquatic plants - teach the child that plants give out oxygen, and plants are pretty too. Also select hardy varieties such as java fern)
   Place the bag of fish in a bucket of water- leave water to de-chlorinate overnight
2. Place gravel in 2 different bowls (I had some bigger pebbles and some fine gravel, so I will teach Megan about sizes and textures)
3. Prepare tank (plastic preferred, lighting will make your tank appear prettier & aerate with pump/filter to minimise cleaning)
   Get a plastic cup for filling tank with water if you allow your child to pour
   Also get ready lots of rags for spills
   

Tips:

• Prepare everything beforehand and do most of the task yourself, leaving some bits for the child to participate and complete (take cue from cooking shows, nothing can be done in 10 mins like those celeb chefs claim-they have the entire tv crew to help chop, julienne, slice their veggies)
• Laying out the items will help you create a mental picture of the steps you will need to take to set up the aquarium (toddlers have little patience, esp with new adventures)
  
• Have rags or tea-towels around to help with the inevitable spills (I intend to allow Megan to help with filling up the tank)

Things You Can Do with Kacang

I think these are groundnuts. Megan is always given different food to play with at my grandma's place (in my home, there is hardly real food as we don't cook). And we encourage her playing with real stuff as long as it is safe and not too much of a mess (then again, with a domestic helper, I am rather tolerant of 'mess' I must add). However cursory it may be, I do get Megan to clean up after she is done with her activities (she has her own broom set).

And so we played with kacang:

1. Aim a nut at the bucket
2. Throw them all over the floor (she probably enjoyed this most)
   
3. Sweep (my helper was ropped in to share the 'fun')
   

June's Project

Today we went to meet Clarence at an aquarium shop at Clementi Ave 2. It is the same shop I used to frequent when I had a fish-hobby years back. My first fish was a gurami named Molly. It had a long life and I can still remember how my grandma nursed it back to health on the several occasions it was ill. After Molly, no guramis appeared as pretty as her and we (grandma & I) kept guppies instead. The guppies did very well in the tank we had and bred happily.

On the way to Clementi, I told Megan we were going to a 'fish shop' and she could hold the bag of fish Clarence bought when he is done with his purchase. She wasn't exactly keen in the fishes at the shop but she was waiting patiently at the shop keeper to give her a bag of fish (he was packing feeder fishes into many small bags). It was only meant to be a visit to the shop to see how fishes as kept and sold, but we ended up buying 2 tetras and 1 aquatic plant (it's a java fern) for Megan. I made sure the shop keeper told her how to care for the fishes. He was very cooperative and told her several times not to overfeed the fishes.

With 2 tetras, some fern, some gravel, a 2-ft tank which I used to place in my office, yours truly is gonna embark on "Project-Fish" for June and teach Megan lots of new things!

First Time at the Beach!

We had been wanting to take her to the beach to experience the sand and the sea. But both myself and my husband are not the beach-going, sun-tanning sort, so this trip to the beach has been much delayed.

And of cos there is the auspicious hour whereby the father is free and the weather is kind. 24 May 2009 was indeed a very favourable date for an outing to the beach. We had some wind, rather gentle sunshine, and a parent who happens to be free and agreeable to go the beach with a toddler (and plenty of toys).

I can never quite rely on Lyndon to take pictures of Megan or us (although he did take charge of the video cam from time to time and took some videos of Megan). So its always me and my 5.0MP camera phone who will record those precious kodak moments (and I must add I am really hankering after the Panasonic TS1 after I saw Han's camera).

It took some coaxing before Megan was willing to take off her shoes and allow her feet to touch the sand. After she warmed up to the feel of the warm and wet sand under her feet, she was more willing to explore the beach. Very soon, she was digging and digging and forgotten her initial reluctance to touch sand. Infact, shortly after, she wanted to go into the waters and we all got very wet :) She seems to realise that the bouyancy of the sea is different from that of chlorinated waters of the pool and wanted to float more than she did in the pool. And of cos, she had a taste of the salty water and asked me 'bu-ke-yi-chi?' (cannot be eaten?)

Oh yes, it helped that we saw other children and a dog playing at the beach. Cos that was exactly what I had told her on our way to Sentosa to prep her for the beach outing. I discovered that prepping her with what to expect for each trip/outing (esp new experiences) always ease her into the new actitivities with minimal fussing. It is a lot of effort to paint her a picture of what to expect but she will listen intently and ask simple 'you? mei-you?' (have? don't have?) questions.

My toddler is tough work. But I am enjoying it :)

My Learning Points (Part 1)

My Learning Points:

• Adults must keep their conversation, esp if topic is sensitive away from children. You really don't know how much they understand. Take cue from the bible too - thou shall not gossip !
  
• Speak properly at all times (if possible, do not speak in 2 languages at 1 time- this seems to be the reason my child's speech is delayed)
• Ignore bad behaviour. Sometimes, its better to ignore undesirable behaviour. I said "undesirable" not "bad". Ignoring certain irritating acts of misbehaviour from a child can dampen his interest in repeating the act. Giving him too much attention by telling him it's no good, dont you ever do it, mommy doesn't like it, a good boy doesn't do this etc. may encourage the frequency of the particular misbehaviour (they probably get a kick out of seeing a scowl on our faces).
• Do not underestimate your child's ability. Just keep remembering he is an individual and don't compare with another kid-I know that can be a tall order as I panicked a little when Megan wasn't ready to talk at 18mth. Get your spouse to remind you, and surround yourself with mature parents who will provide support.
• Respect your child (I had been guilty of critising my daughter's habits with family and friends, only to discover that she understood what I said and was embarrassed). Now, I try very hard not to do the diaper-talk if she is around. She seems more grown up lately, and I am learning to respect her as a person too.
• Enjoy your child. Remember quality over quantity. If you can spend 10mins reading, playing the dump truck, or rolling out play-doh cookies with your toddler, I bet you its more enriching and fufiling than 1 hour of TV for both parent and child.

Listening Comprehension

Subject: Listening Comprehension
Grades: Distinction
Remarks: Remember never to use undesirable language (esp. 'walau')

We were aware that Megan could understand us very well way before she could speak. But what is shocking is her level of comprehension and her interest in the adults' conversation. Let me list a few instances:

Scenario 1:
We deposited Megan at my aunty's place on Saturday and after a very successful afternoon of games and nap, they took her to the mall. When my husband and I went to the mall to meet up with them, my aunty began excitedly to narrate an incident which happened just before we arrived at the mall. She was very proud of the fact that Megan knew the danger of being on a higher level and could grasp the concept of heights, fear, transparency all rolled into 1 episode. It goes like this: Megan was on level 2 of the mall and some toys/display on the lower level caught her attention. You know how malls have walkways lined with clear glass panels right? Megan seems to have realised that she was on higher grounds and could fall if she wasn't carefull. So, she inched forward and stretched out her hands till she could touch the glass panel. After she could feel the glass, and concluded that there is a 'barrier' and she is safe, she plastered her face onto the glass and started telling everyone the stuff down there is "cute-cute". Back to the proud grand-aunty- so my aunty narrated this to us, and she listened in as she was eating her yogurt and gave a sheepish grin as I tried to praise her for her realisation of heights & her concern with her own safety. I thought that was a rather complicated story, but she understoond (and eavesdropped on us).

Scenario 2:
The children met up at Mommy-Elaine's place today. Mommy-Irene was sharing with us how her MIL praised her hubby to the skies for his singing talent at a young age (agenda was to compare son and grandson). Again, Megan was playing and listening in. She came to me and asked me if Wang-Wang's papa could sing! She knows Irene is Wang-Wang's mom, and she knew we were talking about someone else. And she found the conversation funny.

Scenario 3:
My husband isn't exactly a friendly driver. Nor is he kind and patient on the road. So if motorists are a little slack at keeping to their lanes, he will not hesistate to comment - and more than not, it is spiced with a "Wa-lau". Megan finds that word very "interesting" and likes the sound of it aLOT. If that word is ever muttered, she will repeat it for as many times as she could. I counter this by ignoring her instead of correcting her language and telling her "wa-lau" is wrong and she can't say it. It works.

Drinking Water Made Fun

The weather has been unbearably hot to say the least. To coax Megan to drink water more often, I get her to drink out of pretty wine glasses made of plastic (she calls them the 'yum-seng bei'). And to make it fun, I asked the twins next door (at my grandma's place) to join our little water party. It works every time I want her to drink more water than she is willing to.

The Last Party (really)

Ok, this was really the LAST celebration (and the celebration was also for my cousin's 19th bday, so we really did have a good excuse to celebrate, again) .

Saturday's Party (4)

On 18-May, we went to my husband's aunty's place for a family gathering to celebrate Megan's 2nd (yes, erm, the 2nd celebration in the same day). To the left of the picture is Megan's uncle (my husband's 12yo cousin). Her youngest uncle to date is actually my uncle's son who is under 1yo !!!

Saturday's Party (3)

The children had a go at cutting and decorating their own cookies. We gave each child one cookie they made to take home at the end of the day. This cookie dough was provided by mei-mei and it was very delicious - much better than the sugar cookie recipe I first tried.

You see Megan wearing her tired-homey tee cos she dirtied her red top and I had to change her out of it (and realised we didn't bring home much clothing from ahma's house except for her pjs- gulp). I was nagged for dressing her like this for her party after my family saw these pictures.

Saturday's Party (2)

This is the Mickey cake Megan chose from Bengawan Solo after we had lunch at Tiong Bahru Plaza. We got it on the same day we were having the children over (I forgot to order a cake for this party). It was also the first time I allowed Megan to indulge in whatever she wants to eat.

And we will probably save such privileges for birthdays only...

Saturday's Party (1)

Jiajie, Olive, Lara, Hector, Luke & Rufdi came to Megan's lil party on Saturday at our place.

Ling, Jiyuan and Olive/Zixin were the very first to arrive. Zixin is really a very happy smiley baby, always smiling and she is now making lots of gurgling sounds. She is very fair, very chubby, very poster pin-up baby indeed. But we forgotten to take a pic of Olive and Megan. I really need to be better coordinated and have a head on my shoulder the next time I organised any parties.

Then Shuhui & hubby & Jiajie came. Jiajie is turning 4 I think. And he is really good looking too. A very stable child with gorgeous dark hair and bright eyes. Sometimes ,I wonder if the children will grow up to be real friends with each other and what it will be like. It was great that we had quite a few pictures of Jiajie. I think it is easier to ask a older toddler for pictures than to command 2yo to stand still for photos.

Our neighbours from the 3rd and 17th floor came by as well (I invited Rufdi and his mom when I bumped into them at the bus stop a week ago, and she suggested that we asked Luke and mommy, so I thought why not, the more the merrier). I had always thought Luke was the boy we always meet in the lift - but thats apparently another family on the 14th floor according to Rufdi's grandma- who knows every family with a toddler in the block!

Both the boys are 2 months younger than Megan. Rufdi is such a happy boy, always running, always smiling. Luke is really tall can speak very well. And it happens that Ivan's sister is someone both Lyndon & I know from work (Ivan is Luke's dad). We did say Singapore IS SMALL.

Debbie, Lara & Hector came shortly after we cut the Mickey cake as Lala had piano lessons. And my, Hector looks so much like mommy! Lala is v grown-up now and very well-mannered. I think if they come over more often, Lala and Megan could be good friends.

We were also glad that my grandma and uncle, our next door neighbour 'abang', mei-mei, Sean, Weiting, Wei'en and Sean dropped by.

And I stupidly left my camera at my grandma's place so this just about the best pic of the party taken by EJ.

Our Pressie for Megan (2nd installment)

We went to Toys'R Us on Friday evening cos Megan didn't wanna go home or leave ahma's house. And there it was, the slide and swing set on SALE! I thought Papa should get into her books by agreeing to getting her this toy. The store doesn't assemble for customers on weekends so we became the lil elves who pieced this giant up while Megan was asleep.

She woke up the next morning and we took her to the slide in the hall. She was HAPPY .to see that the slide in the box really materialised in our home. Isn't it great to wake up in the morning and be deliriously happy :) At least once for your birthday.

We won't be making any more bulky purchase... seriously.

Balloons for the Children

Megan loves the smileys on her sneakers, so I got some yellow smiley balloons (and they are also cheaper than the barney balloons). We saved the balloon canes from our trips to Macky's and recycled them for the party too. And I made some doggy balloons for the children (and we could only have dogs cos (1) don't want the children to be fighting over who gets what - v important to be homogenous when it comes to very young children (2) I can only shape dogs! LOL

Prepping the Home for Party

I finally did something 'clever' with the humongous, totally useless (save for depositing our bags and shopping each time we get home, and then cluttering our flat as we conveniently forget our bags/shopping we deposited on what was originally meant to be our dinning table).

I got a $19 tablecloth from IKEA - the colours were nice so I didn't bother to measure actually, but thank goodness it fits this BIG WHITE ELEPHANT. Table goes way way back to where the balcony and long stretch of windows sit. Throw on the colourful fabric and viola, useless table disappears. And really, that's the 'cleverest' thing I can do with it as it was assembled in the flat, hence we couldn't even move it OUT of the flat even if we choose to give it away.

Our place is done up in mostly dark colours and my camera phone isn't all that powerful. This is the only picture I managed to take before the party started. Infact, I was glad EJ came armed with her camera or Megan won't have any pictures of her lil party (I left my cam at my grandma's house).

Party Decor

I thought we should not splurge on party decor nor flavours for Megan's celebration. But a party is a party and it should be fun and colourful. So I made some paper streamers out of coloured paper and packed a few goodie bags for the children we are expecting.

Megan was excited about the party when I explained the paper streamers and decorations in the house to her. When I was putting up the streamers 2 days before the party in the morning, she came to me while I was standing on the piano bench, held on to my legs and said "Mama, xiao-xin". My heart simply melted.

Lookie - It's A Real Cookie!

After much pressure and harassment from my little one, we ended up making REAL cookies cos Megan said "ke-yi-chi-de cookies" (can be eaten cookies). We baked some from a simple sugar cookie recipe and decorated them with mini M&Ms (like Barney and friends did in the vcd, no less of cos).

And we baked them, and we ate them ! And we packed the rest for family to say thank you.

Our Pressie for Megan's 2nd Birthday

I guess the trip to see POOH 'live' in Disneyland HK will be the best gift we could give Megan for her 2nd birthday (we were lousy last year, we didn't do anything for her 1st- didn't think she would understand). The queue was terrible but we were fortunately the last to take a pic before the cast retire for a break.

And when the DL-staff motioned for us to quickly leave after we took our pictures with POOH and TIGGER, Megan actually cried! She refused to leave ! I had to tell her POOH and TIGGER had to take a bath as it was a very warm day (the latter was true) before she was willing to let the matter rest.

We should have an extra day in HK cos DL really needs 2 whole days for the children to fully explore all the thematic 'lands' within the park. Fortunately, Megan is too young to realise she has missed out on most of the rides and was very happy seeing Pooh and the parade (yes, we caught the parade altho the weather that day was blazing). It was nice, Ariel, Princesses, Mickey & friends - but a pity no Pooh. Megan was happy though. The music and dancing was good.

I must say Disneyland has a weird effect on people. I don't like Mickey, at all, ever, but while we were at DL, Mickey suddenly seems rather adorable. And it appears that Megan felt the same way too. For the following few days after we got home from DL, it was "Mickey" all the time. But when we really got her a vcd on the mouse, she refuses to watch it - I think the magic is within the park - how very clever these theme park designers are.

Lookie, It's A Cookie !

There is a Barney vcd that has a scene where Barney and friends were seen having LOTS of fun decorating cookies. Megan picked up the word "cookie" and told me they were playing with "play-doh". I thought it would be fun for her to get messy and make a dough from scratch - and so we did, with flour & water, and green beans for toppings.

She wanted to eat the 'cookie' she made and I had to tell her that its not been cooked (I should have said 'baked' really). Several days later, she decided that the cookies should be, and can be eaten cos the children in the vcd were seen eating their cookies.

So today, I took her to my aunty's place and made some REAL sugar cookie dough. We will cut some cookies out after dinner and bake them, and eat them for dessert!

Megan & Balloons

Megan always wants to participate in whatever I am doing (which is why I must be extra cautious in whatever I do cos she is great at imitating these days). She found the air pump really fun and kept insisting on inflating all the balloons we have. Sometimes, its kinda irritating, especially when I wanna get things done in the shortest possible time... Megan sure builds up my patience.

My Balloon Sculpture (Animal)

My 2nd attempt at sculpting a dog. Will be giving these to the children at Megan's little celebration on Saturday :) Shall attempt to make some butterflies if I can find some time between all the party prep...

Very Touching Moments (VTM)

My grandfather was discharged from the hospital after nearly 1month of stay. On Sunday, I told Megan before we go to bed that she would soon be seeing 'lao-gong' (great grandpa, in teochew) back home cos the doctors have "check-check" and said he is OK to go home. She listened intently and replied "Ah-long (Uncle Clarence) yi-yang, lao-ma jia you Ah-long" (she was trying to tell me that Clarence has also been discharged and she has seen him at my grandma's place!). Truly, I was amazed at the connections she could make.

When my grandpa was finally home on Tuesday, my aunty took Megan to the corridor to wait for them to come up to the flat. I was told that she shouted "LAO-GONG" repeatedly at the top of her lungs. And apparently, accordingly to my uncle's recount, my grandpa peeled open his eyes (which is often shut) and his eyes turned moist and red.

My uncle then wheeled him to the barber shop and Megan kept insisting on following. When grandpa was finally home, she went to him, looked at his feeding tube, and gave a very emphathetic look. She called him again, and went to his bedside and touched him.

Shopping For Books

Uncle Kelvin was reading some American trivia book when Megan walked to him with 2 copies of Winnie the Pooh books. She simply shoved one copy into his hands, and insisted he reads the same book as her. She made sure he "read" the book too ... bossy missy!

With A Very Proud Great Grandma

The 2 women I love and spend the most time with ...

Chalk Art

We went to 'Udders' for ice-cream on the "Free Ben & Jerry Scope Day". There was a huge chalkboard in the cafe for patrons to make suggestions for new flavours. I gave Megan a chalk and she was very happy scribbling on the chalkboard. I guess the texture of chalk is very different - I had a go at it myself and was very happy to be reminded of my childhood :)

We had lunch at Ikea today and bought some chalk there. I thought it will be nice for her to doodle on the concrete floor at my grandma's corridor. We did just that in the same afternoon and she loved the mark making experience with something as tactile as chalk (you really can't get the same feel out of chunky crayons or felt pens!)

I gave her pink chalk (cos there were very few purple and I wanna save purple for her -its her fave colour, and pink is my fave). Her mark making was stronger than I expected. It was a very concerted effort to make horizontal lines and she made marks along the entire corridor!

Megan Wears Her Shoes (with ease)

Megan can now wear her shoes confidently, all on her own. She can even put on her velcro-fastened sneakers should she choose to wear her "pao-pao-shoes" (running shoes). I placed a little stool next to a shoe rack which we both keep our shoes/slippers. I realised that its little things around the house like such that helps her develop habits and confidence in doing more things on her own. Before I placed the stool there, she would want me to wear her shoes for her or rely on the helper to keep her shoes when we get home. Now, she is the one reminding me not to misplace my slippers when I take them off !

ME time, US time

I just read a friend's blog about her 5th wedding anniversary. I can't remember how many years I've been married. Probably 4 or 5 too. I am terrible with numbers and this wedding thing seems too far behind me. But I think my gripe is about how there has been no ME time and US time with Megan around.

It seems to have gotten worse after I decided to play SAHM to Megan. The last time other-half and I tried to catch a movie (to my insistence ie), he was checking his mobile for time and asking me when is the movie ending so that he could "see my daughter". Really, the movie was good-and he agreed, he laughed in the movies, but he still couldn't help it but check the time.

Then there's the "where are you now" text messages whenever I am out and not with Megan in the evenings (and most of the time, I am teaching a class, not shopping or partying). It is usually followed by "Hurry up". He is good at making his points clear and succint.

And seriously, its sad to say I can't recall when was the last time I got a good hug. I told him that last evening on our way to fetch Megan (she had a fever- and I m praying hope it will subside by today as I am blogging). I said I cannot remember when was the last time I received a hug, for good reasons, or without. I told him I was more a "hired, live-in, full-time nanny for Megan" than a mother and wife. Ok, perhaps I never play the role of wifey well enough. But whatever it is, its bloody sad.

The romance died - and I am too knackered to bring it back all on my own.

*I MUST MAKE SURE HE READS THIS ENTRY!

Songs & Scent

I was driving when I heard snippets of "Grow Old With You" being played as part of some advertisment on the radio. I couldn't help but smile to myself - a lot. I cannot believe how easy it was to be this happy, how can a song bring back so much memories for me. But it was really nice to be experiencing that few moments of sheer happiness. Nothing fancy, just some music, just mushy lyrics, me and myself in the car (no megan, no others). I was truly happy for that few minutes, reliving each and every scene I could associate with that song - how a particular friend actually went to a lot of effort to play that song for me a long time back.

Then there was the Clairol shampoo I bought some time back to use at my gran's. It isn't fancy salon shampoo, it isn't costly nor really fragrant. But it reminded me of those bitter winter days while I was in London. Again, its really strange for me to feel happy cos winter isn't my favourite season, nor was bathing in winter with little heating. Nor was I terribly happy in those days. But I guess I must have been happy back then, cos the scent from the shampoo really lighten my load each time I choose to use it over the other "better shampoo".

Now I am trying to get some Organics shampoo and see if it could work the same magic (I was using that when I was 17 and was ALWAYS HAPPY back then, my old friends would probably know why).

Not-so-old OLD friends of mine

These are my very dear friends whom I have know since I was 17 (which was really more than ONE decade ago-gulp). Although we seldom meet, or rather, I seldom meet the girls, I really dunno who else I will turn to if I need a listening ear. After being mommy to Megan, I have been a terrible friend, not emailing Han as regularly (if at all) and not even meeting Ling and Hq despite the fact that we all live in the same country (my excuse is both of them live on the other end of the island).

My phone calls and text messages to the girls dwindled as my time with Megan is stretched longer as she grows older. Which is bad if you ask me, cos my social life ever since staying at home with Megan seem to have been reduced to people I email (which are mostly parents) or relatives whom I can count on for some babysitting help.

This is really bad - I must reorg my life and do something about it. But really, I don't smell success anywhere near with my current situation at home.

*DEPRESSING, to say the least*

Megan meets tonton Laurent !

Megan finally meets tonton Laurent, and Aunty Han after almost 2 years. Han visited us when Megan was 2 days old when we were still in the hospital. And the next time we saw her was 4 May 2009 (2 weeks to Megan's 2nd birthday). This time, we were glad we met Laurent after hearing so much about him.

Laurent was great with Megan. Megan's eyes were wide opened (so was her mouth) when he sang her "Allouette", in french no less! And did I mention he carried her and flung her high up in the air several times, and share his delicious lemon cake ?

Han, we know we can count on you guys to babysit - so expect us anytime soon!