A Place of Happiness & Sadness...

Recognition!

2011-12-05T02:06:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, it was very exciting. My husband and I were recognized on stage for our achievement in Sab with our children. We had an amazing standing ovation. Bernice and Charlene followed us to the seminar, and they went up on stage with us. Everyone stood and clapped for us. I believe it was an awesome experience for them. They stood there and looked at the crowd while we spoke. They also get to experience applause during our speech. I hope this experience will lessen their stage fright and shyness. They both really enjoyed being on stage and enjoyed receiving the claps from the crowd. This is the first step to their leadership exposure by mommy and daddy :). This is my little gift for them, which money cannot buy - experience and exposure. Their only complaint was why did daddy speak so long... Lol...

Through Shichida Method program, it gives my ABCD the brain training for the ability to learn and grasp knowledge and concepts fast and easily. Today, I met my friend who inspired me and convinced me of starting our children from birth while I was still pregnant with Aloysius. His son just finished P1, and he received a letter from the MOE that he's top 20%.

Through sports and competition, it gives ABCD the fighting spirit and the feeling of winning. Lately, we have been speaking to Aloysius' swimming coach. Very soon, Aloysius will start the training to swim for competition. He still have some fears of the water which he gotta overcome before he can join in with the other boys in the training for competition.

Through SAB, it gives them the real life experience outside school and home. Leadership of all age groups, center of influence, building a legacy for themselves, being among successful entrepreneurs, expert in building relationship, etc.

Who am I?

2011-11-29T08:57:00.000+08:00

Last month, I attended a seminar by Mr. Arthur Yap about identifying who am I. I paid special attention to this seminar cos I know the importance of knowing who am I before I can achieve great success, be it as a mother or as an entrepreneur. This seminar has changed the way I think about myself and certainly raised my self confidence many folds. I believe I am a better mother now. Not only I find myself different, there are people around me whom i meet frequently also commented that I am different now. And my kids' future will be changed. I appreciate my past and appreciate what I have. If you know me well, you will see that I am a "kiasu" (competitive) mommy. I am always looking into the "best" ways to nurture my kids, and how to nurture them in such a way that they will be great and contribute to society next time. I also keep moving on and improving myself, and also learn from the experienced, not so much from the so-called experts though.

As a mother, in order to be able to nurture our children more effectively and confidently, and be able to stand up in the society on their own, I need to have self confidence and be an achiever, achieving great things. Children usually follow what we do rather than what we say. A mother with little self confidence will have lots of challenges in disciplining her own kids, plus difficulty in nurturing kids with self confidence. With higher self confidence, we will naturally have higher self respect for ourselves, and naturally earn respect from our children. Recently, I read from Dr. Sears about disciplining our children. He wrote that "Being an authority figure, you are trusted and respected, not feared. Lasting authority cannot be based on fears." Therefore, it's very important to earn respect from our children. In order to have their respect, we need to have self respect for ourselves. If we don't, we better do something to improve ourselves.

I will attend Mr. Arthur Yap seminars monthly. Mr. Arthur Yap conducts a seminar on personal development monthly. Why I attend so often? Firstly, I am kiasu. Secondly, it's affordable (cheap) and value for money. Thirdly, I learn something from him every time I attended and improved myself. Fourth, Mr. Arthur Yap is down to earth. Fifth, Mr. Arthur Yap has changed many lives before. Imagine you learn one value from him every month, over 1 year, that will be 12 values, which means 12 parts of your inner self have changed, and the changes you went through will definitely impact your family life and certainly your children's future.

According to Prof. Shichida, nurturing and educating our own child, starts from the mother. Stressful eh? Haha... Stressful or not comes from the mind too. It's another topic to talk about though. To sum it all, as a mother, we must always keep improving ourselves.

After the seminar last month, I am proud to write that I have achieved a bigger goal last month in Sab. I have achieved a success which many people admired in Sab. I hope I will be an inspiration to you too.

Ok, I gotta go. Lastly, if you want to find out more about Mr. Arthur Yap seminars, I will be glad to provide you more information. I guarantee you will be a different person over one year. Email to me at linnaung@gmail.com.

Joy of having twins.

2011-10-12T13:29:00.000+08:00

This morning, I went to Thomson Medical Hospital to meet a couple friend who just gave birth to a baby boy. My car was with the valet service. I need to take a shuttle bus to collect my car. On the bus, was a couple sitting opposite me. The wife is pregnant. We started to have a chat during the bus ride. She's going to deliver in a couple of weeks' time, and she's expecting twin girls! I was very happy for them. Having twin girls are very special, I told them. Oh... While talking with them, I fell in love with my girls further although they were not by my side. I am enjoying my life journey with Bernice and Charlene - my twin girls. They are indeed very special and warm my hearts every morning with their smiles and singing. I told them that the girls will grow up with a special bond between them. They will have each other for company, they will sing together, they will look after each other when in school, they will negotiate and compromise with each other, they will play imaginary mommy and baby together, they will protect each other, etc. Sometimes they will dance and sing together. Cute right? Maybe next time I will upload their singing and dancing videos :)
Ok, I gotta go.

How to share your blog posts on Facebook and Twitter.

2011-10-11T04:47:00.000+08:00

Mommy here is catching up with technology, and the social media. I have left my blog quiet for a few months, partly because I have been busy, and partly because I am spending more time on Facebook via iPhone. Now, with some time, I am sorting out how to continue to blog here plus using Facebook, with the minimal time required. And sharing my blog posts here to my Facebook and Twitter, preferably with only one click. Voila! I got it! Let me share with you.

Here is how to do it. First, you go to AddThis.com to make a button and install it on your blog. It is very easy. No registration is required. Just go and generate a button and install it on each blog post, NOT on your sidebar. Installing it on your individual blog post makes sharing much easier. AddThis recommends adding the buttons after the title and after the posts. After you have installed it, it will look something like what you find on this post, right below the title and date, and at the end of the posts. If you still blur about installing the buttons, go to the Help@AddThis.

Now, whenever I blog, all I have to do is click on the Twitter button. It will open up the Twitter page with my blog post title and a shortened mini url for Twitter purposes. I can add any text I like then I click submit and voila! My Twitter is updated with my latest blog post. And you can do the same for Facebook.

I highly recommend doing this to all bloggers who are blogging and especially those who have a few blogs. Your goal is to get higher page impressions and more visitors for your advertisers. This is one way to do it. It helps your friends and followers keep up with your latest updates on ALL of your blogs on one page whichever social networking site they may prefer whether it is Twitter or Facebook. I am limiting to two social networking sites because those are the sites I am on at the moment.

Your readers can easily click on any of your blog post if they have the time and inclination and it makes it so much easier for them to follow than having each and every one of your blogs on their blog reader and trying to know when you update which blog. Nowadays many people have several blogs and it is hard to keep up with each and every one of them for each and every blogger on your blogroll. This makes it easier for everyone. They can then choose what they want or don’t want to read.

So what are you waiting for? Go do it now! Then tell the world.. go tell your readers, I mean. Announce it on your Twitter, Facebook and Blog. Make it easier for everyone to follow you whatever method they may choose to do so.

You can also checkout my Facebook page and my Twitter page to see how my blog updates look like on Facebook and Twitter. And hey, if you like this blog post, why not click on my Facebook Like button above (below the title and date and sharing buttons) and see what happens?

For the know how on how to install the Facebook Like button like mine, you can easily get the code and follow the instructions at Blogger Plugins.

I installed these buttons for my own use but if lets say you have those buttons and someone likes your post, they can easily share it on their Facebook and Twitter pages in the same manner. Do test it out. Its really cool!

Positive energy come come...

2011-10-10T11:34:00.006+08:00

Lately, I have been emotionally affected after reading a blog about a brave little girl of 6 year old, fighting against cancer, and she's now fighting against the side effects of chemotherapy. The mother is a single mother with two kids. At first, I just read it becos I was curious. Then I felt that I want to help the family and felt a little bit of the pain that the mother is going through. Being a mother myself, it pains me to read how a young child gotta suffer the pain of surgeries, one after another, and multiple rounds of chemotherapy. It was indeed emotionally draining for the mother. The mother seems to have given up hope in finding a miracle cure for her gal and fight the disease with her gal. There's lots of negativities whereby people tell her to just to let her gal go. I think those remarks made by concern public, really make her believe get smaller. I was very attracted to read the blog and followed the blog for the last few days. I think I gotta stop reading the blog for a while. It is making my imagination runs wild though.

I gotta reflect on myself. Hence, I started to ask myself this morning, why am I attracting negative energies lately? Maybe because my little D has an enlarged lymph node, and fell sick last week, and I am tired and worried. Positive energies come come... Bad energies go away. This morning, when I showered D, his enlarged lymph node got a lot smaller :)

I am in the process of training how to control my mind and my thoughts better. It takes a lot of discipline though. Let me share with you one tip from the CD.

"My power to think thoughts is my power to create my life, and I have the power to think whatever thoughts I desire."
That's great, isn't it?

Last night, after attending a seminar by Mr. Arthur and Mei, I had the opportunity to have a late dinner with them. We had conversations in a group. One thing that caught my attention was "see the end in mind" even when we are nurturing our children. Well, Mr. Arthur said many times in his seminars before that to achieve our goals, we gotta "see the end in mind". But it did not occur to me that I gotta do that when nurturing and guiding my children. Their eldest son is 17 this year, and cannot wait to be in SAB business. He wants to study law, and he will be paying for his own overseas education. Mr. Arthur and Mei saw the end in their mind for their children already. Mr. Arthur shared with us that their children will be leaders developing leaders in SAB, reaching out to the ordinary people. Wow!

I recalled that a few years ago, when I made a decision that I will embark on the journey with the Shichida program, I saw an end in mind, which is when my children go to Primary 1, they need not go for anymore enrichment nor tuition classes. It will be a choice for them to go for enrichment classes, not a need. Starting from Primary 1, I will not have to keep asking them to do their homework, nor they need to spend a lot of time in memorizing their spelling and dictation. And when writing composition, creative ideas will just flow to them easily. Hence, I started teaching them from birth. When they reach Primary 1, it will be other areas of development, such as, leadership, competition, managing money. Mommy here quite stressed, cos I gotta be a good leader myself, then my children can be good leaders. Aloysius is going into Primary 1 in slightly more than one year's time though.

After the seminar and the conversations, I realised that I gotta "see the end in mind" further for my children. You know what, I followed Prof. Shichida when Aloysius was about 2 months old, that it's very important for parents to have a dream for our children. I have created a dream that Aloysius, Bernice, Charlene and Darius will be their self-made millionaire by the age of 18. I did the "dreams input" daily for 1 year. I am quite relax with Darius though. I better buck up again in the "dreams input" for Darius.

In order for me to create or see a bigger dream for my children, I gotta have a bigger dream myself. I am grateful that I get to rub shoulders with Mr. Arthur and Mei, and they really expand my mind. If you want to rub shoulders with Mr. Arthur and Mei, you still have a great chance. What you need to do is to make a decision to join me in SAB business and follow the system to achieve some small success, and you will get noticed, and with me being able to link you up, it's a much faster route.

Mr. Arthur and Mei used to lead a team of 100,000 people in their prime. Thousands of people used to queue up in the cold winter just to get their signature. They were already semi-retired before they decided to come ot of retirement to build SAB. He's building a team in SAB. Not a normal team of business people, but a team of business leaders. Not 1, not 2 leaders, but a team of leaders. He's created a system in SAB, and through his system, he had created a turnover of more than $50 million in the last 3 years. People who have been in businesses before know that for this kind of turnover for a new company, it's not easy, is it?

Ok, gotta go... Flashcards time for Darius.

Gift for our children.

2011-09-16T21:45:00.001+08:00

Have you thought of giving your child a gift? I am sure you did thought of that. In fact, many times rite?

But...

Have you give it a thought of what kind of gift for your child? A birthday gift? A toy? A watch? A house? Or a life long gift? How about a gift that can last a life time?

Then...

You will certainly choose a gift that can last a life time, rite? If there's any such gifts. In my opinion, there is.

So...

What is a life long gift that is worth giving? Is it a collectible watch? Is it diamonds? Is it gold? Is it cash money? Is it an apartment? Is it a house? Is it a business?

Hmm... What can the most valuable, life-long gifts be?

In my opinion, from my personal experience, it's the soft skills. Skills that cannot be learnt from books. Skills that need time to nurture. Soft skills can include communications, analytical, memory, creativity, leadership. If you ask me which one will I choose if I were to choose only one, I will choose communications. Which will you choose?

Over the years of running businesses and attending seminars, and interacting with people from all walks of life, I realised that communication skill is the most important. Let me give you a few examples why is it the most important.

Doctors who are more successful and popular have great communication skills as compared to those who are less skillful. Lawyers who are more successful and popular also have great communication skills. Salesman who can communicate better than the rest are more successful. Lecturers who can communicate better are very good lecturers. Here, in this context, I am measuring success with money and popularity. Don't you agree that we need to communicate with people no matter what we do in life? Be it entrepreneur, CEOs, managers, engineers, accountants, lawyers, doctors, etc.

By giving our children good communication skills, according to Prof. Shichida, they are listened to and their needs met, hence emotionally more stable. Having good communication skills, when the child goes to school, he/she will be well accepted and liked by the teachers and classmates, hence become more popular and being given opportunity in other areas. When the children can communicate well, being listened to, their confidence in themselves improve too.

Now, how to give this gift of superb communication skill to our children?

Very good question...

Great communication skills come from practice! Provide them with more opportunity to communicate will sharpen their communication skills.

We, as parents, need to improve ourselves too in order to be able to guide our children better. In everything we do, is about having the opportunity. I feel lucky that I am with Esabee. The business itself gives me the opportunity to improve my communication skills, cos it's a people's business. Every businesses is people business, cos we can only sell to people, not machines. But in Esabee, there is a system that can guide us in the right path in improving ourselves, coupled with more money into our bank account. By following a system, it's definitely faster. There's a monthly seminar that is very cheap, and I am learning from multi-, multi-, multi-millionaire! I will attend it every month without fail cos it's very affordable and value for money. By having better communication skills, I build confidence in myself too. I think I am on the right track, cos some of my friends commented that I am a more confident person than I was before. With me being more confident, I have better knowledge in how to nurture more confident children. By improving myself, I am improving my children's life.

In Esabee, I am moving up the leadership ladder. I can change more lives and upgrade more families' life, through empowerment and self-improvement. Let me share with you a story about one of a mother from my organization.

Let me identify her name as P. P is a full-time working mother with 2 children. She's in a very busy career of advertising and marketing with a MNC. I got to know her from Facebook, where she was trying to sell things to me. Two years' ago when I met up with her, P was in financial crisis. But she still started the business with Esabee. At the beginning, while still learning the rope of the business, there's more downs than ups, but she persisted on and grow with the system. Now, her kids are attending more than 5 enrichment classes, which she could not afford before. Esabee is indeed the easiest business. And a few days ago, she told me that her name card has travelled as far as Arizona! Esabee will be an international business, cos it has products that everyone wants. We are currently focusing in Singapore and Malaysia only. Esabee has certainly upgraded P's and her children's life.

Lastly, I can only help those who are willing. Follow me if you want to upgrade your and your children's life. Come on the journey with me in Esabee. My Facebook is Linna Ung. I am still figuring out how to go on Twitter and QQ.

Testing from iPad.

2011-09-15T11:32:00.002+08:00

Hi blogger,

I just figured out how to post on blogspot from iPad! Hooray! I will write more here. If you are like me who is also figuring out how to post on blogspot from iPad or iPhone, let me share with you how.

Very easy.

Download "BlogPress".

Bingo!

I love writing... Later all...

The emotional side of me.

2011-05-25T12:32:00.002+08:00

When I was alone with Darius, as I hold him safely in my arms, close to me, and as I looked into his alert eyes, I felt the very special love for him coming from somewhere deep from my heart. I can feel the special closeness we have. Sometimes, tears just get welled up in my eyes. It's tears of happiness that I could not expressed with words. He has finally arrived. Yes, finally arrived, safe and sound. I was very happy to see him opening his little eyes with double eyelids, flinging his tiny hands, kicking his tiny legs, and sucking his thin, tiny fingers.

The journey with him inside my tummy, though it seems very long and eventful, was a very special one indeed. He has been part of my life the day he's conceived. The positive and negative emotions, the ups and downs of my life, that he had been through with me while growing inside me, were experiential. He been through with me in setting up a partnership, making it work, realised I had been stupid, got out of partnership, clearing up the mess created by my biz partner, emptying the office, arguments and cold wars with my hubby, throwing temper at my ABC, hating and doubting my God, etc. Thinking what my ex biz partner got me into, I still cannot forgive this couple, and I had never hated someone in my life so much. Thinking of how i was lured into trusting them totally, my hair will stand. They are a great con man couple. But all these had made me stronger and smarter. I was exhausted many times with the weight that I carried and having to rush here and there, up to a point whereby I cannot even talk due to breathlessness. I was in tears many times. There are also times of fear of mine that Darius is not born normal. But I did my "tai jiao" whenever I had negative thoughts. I imagined sending positive "energy ball" from the sun and the universe to him, and told him to help mommy by growing up healthy, happy and smart. And come into this beautiful world safely and smoothly. I told him to use his own ability and energy to cure himself of any illness and disability before his birth. He did! And he's born healthy and normal. I am very glad. While he's still in my tummy, I also told him that the negative emotions that mommy had do not concern him at all, and have nothing to do with him :)

I can't stop loving my darling Darius, and will commit to nurturing him like his gor-Gor and two Jie-Jie :)

Arrival of "D".

2011-05-20T08:32:00.004+08:00

Hi bloggers,

It has been some time since I last posted here. Part of the reason is that I am too busy to even sit in front of my laptop to surf web. I have an iPhone now, which I do not know how to post from iPhone to blogspot yet. I will get that sorted too.

Since my last post (Gosh, it's November 2010!),
I have been busy...
...moving the whole family from JB back to Singapore in December 2010.
...with getting ABC settled down in school in BRMCK
...getting out with a business partnership
...with clearing the "sh*t" my ex-biz partner left for me
...getting my new business to work
...spending time with my ABC before D's arrival
...preparing for D's arrival

Yes, we have now moved back to Singapore from JB. ABC are going to school at Barker Road Methodist Church kindergarten. They have enrichment classes everyday, that leaves me some time for myself to get my things done in the morning. Their enrichment classes start from 8.30am till 11.30am. They will have breakfast in school. Then their normal kindergarten class will start from 12pm till 3pm. Aloysius is in K1 and he is attending daily chinese enrichment class in the morning. Bernice and Charlene are in N1 and they are attending Montessori enrichment class daily in the morning. Aloysius adapted to school almost immediately on the first day of school. Bernice and Charlene took about a week to adapt to school. They cried and wailed in the beginning, but now they love to go to school. The teachers there are caring and good. Thumbs up from me! The school system is excellent too! The teachers and the staffs know what to do and how to deal with the kids. I was very impressed! I finally got time for myself. I will send them to school at 8am in the morning, then fetch them at 3pm. That gives me 6 hours a day to meet friends, do business, run errands, etc. After they get back from school, they will either have a nap, or I will do their Shichida worksheets with them.

I will write about my business partnership next time. Very negative... To sum it all, I am smarter now in business after paying $100k :) Very expensive "school fees" we paid. I definitely felt conned. Anyway... I learnt my lesson.

D for Darius. Darius, our fourth child has arrived last week. My ABC were prepared for D's arrival. They are very happy that Darius is finally born. They love him very much and will kiss him everyday when they wake up.

Ok, I gotta go... ABC coming home soon :) Later all...

Last day at Shichida Kindergarten.

2010-11-19T20:24:00.002+08:00

Today is the last day at Shichida kindergarten. The school organised a mini-concert and a graduation ceremony for the K2 kids. I was surprised that Aloysius will be part of the concert. I had a small chat with Mrs. Khoo. I guess she can remember me. She walked to me towards the end of the concert and thanked me for my support. I really dunno what to say to her. I just smiled. There's a sad feeling inside me. Somehow I also felt some sadness inside her during the chat. She mentioned that she have not enough time to take care of the kindergarten. Although I am angry with the management, the method does work. Haiz... there goes my dream of opening a Shichida kindergarten franchise.

Maybe... when my business settle down, I might make a trip to Japan to check it out. I dunno when that will be though. At the moment, I am to the blim already. This pregnancy has been a very tiring and uncomfortable journey so far. I haven't seen the light of things settling down till after Chinese New Year. Few more months to go...

Shichida way - Prenatal (1)

2010-11-05T18:40:00.004+08:00

I have been finding time to read the prenatal book by Prof. Shichida again to revise. Kiasu me :P
I lend my book "最新胎教" to my cousin in Penang already. So, I went to Bras Basah again to buy another copy :) At the same time, I saw another title and bought 2 books on 胎教 in the end. I will be reading them and hopefully have time to write some tips here.

In brief, Shichida's way of prenatal education includes a few areas like diet, communications with the unborn baby, and prenatal stimulation. A foetus can understand what the mother thinks and says starting from 1 month through telepathy. So, be it positive or negative, the unborn baby knows them all.

The first and foremost thing is to ask the unborn baby to grow up healthy, and use it's own super strength to come into this world smoothly. And name the unborn baby as early as possible, and use the name during prenatal communications with the baby. I will tell my baby,

"Baby baby, mommy need you to grow up healthily, and use your own strength to come into this wonderful world. You are already part of the family, and you have a brother and 2 sisters waiting for your arrival. Daddy is eagerly waiting for your arrival too. Mommy is eagerly waiting for your arrival too. Mommy and daddy loves you very much. You gotta grow up healthy and strong, and use your own strength to come into this world. Mommy loves you."

Prenatal communications includes talking to the unborn baby slowly and loud enough, playing with the unborn baby by tapping the tummy, sending images to the unborn baby, reading story books, etc. There are quite a number of ways. For me, I choose sending images and energy balls to my unborn baby. I personally do not really like to talk though.

Ok... I will stop here. Gotta go... Update more next time... Probably on diet, especially lecithin.

Super mommy...

2010-11-03T21:55:00.002+08:00

Lately, I have no choice but to take care of my ABC on my own at times. My mum just went overseas travelling with her friends. I have a restaurant just started operation in JB Sutera Utama. I also have a distribution running in Singapore. And just took over a running franchise stall in Maxwell. Phew... so many things at one go.
Initially, I thought of putting B and C in one of the Cherie Hearts that is newly opened in JB for November and December. I wanted them to start on 1 Nov. We went and stayed there for only half a day. Hubby and me concluded that they will be better off at home. Luckily, I haven't pay the fees. What happen was, there was only 4 teachers to handle all the kids on the first day, in a triple storey operation, though they only used two storey. The kids were left there running around and playing free and easy. The 4 teachers there were all busy with crying kids. Bernice refused to let us go for breakfast too. hmm... that's quite unusual for her. Bernice is usually the big sister to Charlene, and she loves going to school, and she's quite independent. I was thinking of sending ABC for their holiday program, daily from 9am to 5pm. hmm... looks like I gotta find alternatives. It will not be easy for me to trust new establishment now too.
I just went to another education center for "xin suan". They are taking in kids for the holidays for half a day, from 9am to 1pm. I spoke with the person in charge of the center. And I'm tempted to send my ABC there. She's a mother of 4. I think I can learn from her. Her eldest daughter is 12, her twin girls are 10, and the youngest boy 6. Wow... haha... I will be joining her in the club of 4 kids next year :) The age gaps of our kids are quite similar. Her eldest daughter is in P6 this year and did very well in school. She told me that she started training her eldest daughter when she was 3 years old by sending her to many many enrichment classes. Pant pant... I gotta buck up to go around to look into enrichment classes. I will be starting Aloysius "xin suan" during the holidays, and he will be going for a trial with the teacher next week to see where can he fit in. Next, probably ballet class for the girls, and art classes for ABC. The girls might be starting music classes in Yamaha in December. Lots of exciting things going on...
For these two weeks, I will have to take care of my ABC on my own. Like yesterday and today, I packed all 3 into the car and sent Aloysius to school. Super eh... When Aloysius is in school, I will settle the girls' lunch, bring them around in the car to meet people. Then fetch Aloysius from school, feed him lunch, send them home. Go for meeting, training after that... It's quite tiring though. Plus the morning sickness that I am having is for the whole day, especially after eating meat. Vegetables, bread, cakes are more palatable to me now.I wish I can have the luxury to sleep the whole day long.
Ok... gotta close shop and go home... Later all...

New New New...

2010-10-10T10:13:00.002+08:00

We finall got registered with Baker Road Methodist Church Kindergarten for my ABC. Luckily they still have vacancy for all of them in the afternoon session :)
We chose this kindergarten due to several reasons. Firstly, we think that it's time for our kids to be exposed to some religious teachings. Secondly, the teachers turnover is quite low, and therefore, the teachers are more senior and experienced in disciplining kids. It's time that my kids get the discipline outside of home. Thirdly, Aloysius will have familiar friends there.
Ok... gotta go...

Closing Down!

2010-10-05T13:26:00.003+08:00

What is closing down? Make a guess...

Sorry... No sale...

It's Shichida kindergarten!

Kena "tua" again... :(

I just dig out a letter in Aloysius' bag saying that the kindergarten will be closed down. What's the reason? Cos of high operating costs. The principal dare not even meet the parents to announce the news, and just put a letter inside the kids' bags for the parents to discover the letter and read themselves. What a way to announce it. And I met the principal in the school yesterday. The day the letter was inserted in Aloysius' bag! How responsible they are...

How will you feel?

2010-09-28T23:46:00.013+08:00

How will you feel when your closest family members told you that your kid is naughty?
How will you feel when your friends commented that your kid is naughty?
How will you feel when your kid's teacher tell you that your kid is naughty?
How will you feel when a police tell you that your kid committed a crime?
Of course, no parent will want the last one to happen. And also have different feelings for the first three.

I am going through a stage as a mother whereby I have naughty children of my own to deal with. I am learning to accept and appreciate comments from others, and change for the better. I have to admit that I have been very busy in business, and some how neglected my ABC for some time. A is getting a bit out of hand recently. It's time for discipline. My mum bought a cane! Finally! hahaha... My sister was telling me how my mum choose a cane when buying. She beat herself with the cane to see which is the least painful. hahaha... So funny and loving...

A is going through a stage whereby he's not respecting our helper. He will shout at her, hit her, etc. He does that to my mum too. Last week, I beat him on his arm hard for hitting our helper, and made sure he apologise. I dunno why he's in this stage. I am thinking of solutions and methods of disciplining him. Any ideas? Is it a 4 year old stage? Before this, I was dealing with a screaming boy, which is gone now. Thank God for that.

Recently, I have a friend who is kind of telling me that I have wasted all the money I have put in for my kids' education. Ya, his daughter need not go for any classes, and now a very very good and sensible girl at 15 months old, and very well disciplined. hmm... Oh... I certainly did not like that, to be honest, cos he compares with my 4 years old son and my 2.5 years old daughters. Remember, I have 3 kids, not 1. I also have a very very good and sensible boy when he was 15 months old, and well discipline at that age too, and A was the only child at 15 months old. Well, I have to swallow my pride and accept it, cos I cannot control others' opinion. Everyone's point of view comes from their own individual experiences in life. I gotta respect that. Well, parents with more than one child will agree with me that it's certainly easier with just one child.

My B and C are coming to 3 years old in about 6 months' time. They have progressed well so far, and that's my opinion and experience. They are toilet trained since 18 months old. They are completely toilet trained, even night time, before they even hit 2 years old. This is "toilet discipline", so I called it. Aloysius started walking at 13 months old. Bernice started walking at 9 months, Charlene started walking at 10 months. When I mention walking, I mean without support, and walking with two legs on their own. I think it's becos I followed Glen Doman program in "How smart is your baby" since their birth. Are these wasted efforts? Both my gals are singing many songs now. The credit goes to Julia Gabriel. They can even change the lyrics of the songs. For example, "twinkle twinkle little stars", can become "twinkle twinkle little moon". They are pretty creative at this age, in my opinion. When they are looking for something or doing something, they will sing the songs sang at Julia Gabriel, such as "where is pooh bear, where is pooh bear" when looking for pooh bear. Aren't they creative in applying what they have learnt in their daily play time? The aim of going for classes at a young age is exposure for the kids. Plus I would rather pay for their classes so that they will learn something, rather than lying around at home with someone who do not know how to teach them things as simple as ABC. At 2.5 years old, gone are the milk bottles for Bernice and Charlene. They are drinking from cups. They drink their milk from the cup without much spillage now. They feed themselves their cereals and milk in the morning. If you are a parent with older kids, I believe you will know that for young kids to drink from the cup without much spillage takes a few months of practice. It does not happen overnight. They drink their milk before bed from the cup too, not milk bottles. And they are 2.5 years old. Kids do make mistakes which adults do too. Kids do things that they do not even know it's not right. Kids do fight or compete with their siblings, which I thought is natural. It's worse for twins. Even my nephew, who is 11 months old, is feeling jealous over the grandparents. I believe my nephew will be more matured emotionally than an only child who is surrounded by adults only, cos there's competition, "heart-breaks", sharing, playing with kids. My nephew's growing up environment has one 4yo brother and two 2yo sisters. A child's behaviour and maturity can be tested in the presence of other children of around the same age, not when the only child is among adults.

And I thought to myself how silly I have been to talk about Shichida, Glen Doman, etc. Silly me... Why share when someone refuse to listen? Or worse, get me to talk about it, and in the end hint to me that I wasted my efforts? And my choices are bad? I really felt so silly. I better tell myself to shut up. hahaha... Share only when someone is willing to listen. Anyway, all kids have a growing up stage.

But being brainwashed by Shichida and Glen Doman books, education gotta start from young, and the earlier education is started, the better it is, I have no reservations to share the importance to start from young to anyone. Cos time and tide waits for no man, and all kids are growing up very fast. And I felt "kan cheong" for the young kids.

From Glen Doman,
a 5 year old learn things faster than a 6 years old,
a 4 years old learn things faster than a 5 years old,
a 3 years old learn things faster than a 4 years old,
a 2 years old learn things faster than a 3 years old,
a 1 year old learn things faster than a 2 years old.

Well, think I better stop here. From this experience, I learnt to become wiser and more tolerant to others. Be more humble, and respect every family have their own way of educating and disciplining the children. Before we comment on others kids, better think about our own kids first.

I pray to God to give me the strength and energy to guide my kids in the right path, as I am tired having to deal with them one after another. It has been about 6 months when I realised something is not right since our trip to Japan. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to visit Japan with my kids and realise things gotta change.

Something to share...

2010-09-21T17:36:00.002+08:00

I was doing a research on the internet for my F&B business, and chance upon this website which I think you will like and find it useful...

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/healthy-eating/easy-homemade-baby-food-recipes-purees/

New New New

2010-08-27T08:49:00.004+08:00

Things are fast changing over here :)

This is my first week coping with a new helper. My ex-helper, my very first one, went back last Monday. We sent her off at the airport. Well, I guess I have some emotions for her departure. But come to think of it, if her heart is not here anymore, there's no point continuing her service. After I told her to leave, she stayed with me for more than a month. For those days, I can see that she's very happy everyday, not much day dreaming. When she's happier, my ABC were happier too. I am grateful for that.

For about two weeks, Bernice and Charlene slept with her at nite. They woke up in the middle of the nite and walked to sleep on her bed. I guess they knew that she's leaving. When we were going to the airport, she hugged Bernice and cried. Bernice followed wailing out loud wanting me to carry her in the car. I had no choice and carried both Bernice and Charlene till we reached the airport. My ABC were conditioned a week before her departure, hence they knew that they will be saying "bye bye" to aunty at the airport, and aunty is going back to Myanmar. At the airport, I bought her two mooncakes, and 3 small little cakes for ABC to give to her. It was her birthday on Tuesday. Before she went in the immigration, I gave her a hug and asked her to take care, she cried. Tears welled up in my eyes too. My ABC asked me "mama, why aunty tt cry?" I dunno how to answer them.

After sending my ex-helper off, we sent the gals to JB before the new helper comes in. Aloysius stayed with me, while the gals stayed in JB. They cried on the first nite, looking for mummy to sleep with them. Aloysius adapting well with the new helper. I have the luxury to arrange in such a way that she get used to the routine in phases. She will get used to play with Aloysius first before the gals come back this weekend. I am satisfied with the new helper so far. She's young, walks fast, do things fast. She has a faith, which I am looking for. And she's from Myanmar. Going to the temple is a daily affair for her. Why I choose someone with a faith, is because she will be looking after my kids. With a strong faith in God, whatever bad things she thinks of doing to my kids, she will think again. And most importantly, we can communicate! She can read to Aloysius too. She's creative and dynamic and can teach Aloysius to draw :) I interviewed her over the phone before I chose her. My agent recommended her to me too that she can speak pretty good English. I told the agent that I will not have the time to be patient in trying to communicate with the new helper. So far, I am happy.

Ok gotta go... Next blog will be we are shifting to Toa Payoh in a few months' time :)

Education for my ABC.

2010-07-22T19:51:00.004+08:00

I have a bit of free time now to write. I just felt like writing something today.

This afternoon, I met a family. It was a coincidence. We met in the lift. The mommy has been reading and following my posts about kids' education. She asked me about the kindergarten and about my most recent posts. When I was driving home, I felt that I gotta write something here.

What is "education" for your children?
Is it about academic and paper results from school?
Is it about exposure to the books?
Is it about exposure to the society?
Is it about nurturing a "genius" that you can be proud to show?
Is it about a holistic well-being of your kid?
Is it about raising up a kid who can contribute to the society when they grow up?

So many questions to be asked... And so many answers. Different people will answer them differently. How you answer a question is what kind of experiences you been through in your own life. Plus the influence from the people around you.

Sometimes, it's very difficult to find the "best" school for your kid, or the "best" education system for your kid, until you know what you want for your kid. What is the objective of "education" for your kid?

Wanna know mine? Get prepared for the answer. There's no right and wrong ok? Get a cup of water beside you... hahaha.... just pulling your legs :)

Drums rolling...

Drums rolling some more... hahaha...

My answer is "it's ever changing".

For the past two years in a people business, I have met a lot of people and seen a lot of successes and failures. Some how, I do agree with my mentor that "the moment you enter the University, that's the end of your career." From the failures and successes that I have seen, I hope my kids will not go through them. Now, I felt that I understand more deeply about Prof. Shichida's definition of education.

Have you met people who are very successful in life and do not even have a degree? There are
out there in the society.

Have you met people who are very successful in life and have a degree? There are out there in the society too.

Education certainly does mould a person in certain ways. But there's a lot more in life than just going to school. Taking me as an example regarding being "highly educated". I would say that my education levels is quite high. I has a Masters in Engineering from NTU. I pursued a doctorate in the UK for almost 4 years, but I did not complete the writing up. From my journey of pursuing a doctorate, I also learn a lot. It moulded me to be a stronger person. It moulded me to be able to make a firm decision for myself. It moulded me to be able to stand for myself. It moulded me to be able to stand up after failures. These are just my journey being a "student". Well, these are the experiences that nobody else will have the same as mine.

After these few years, I just realised that being "highly educated" has it's pros and cons. It's about weighing the pros and cons. Hence, when choosing a school or a education system for my kids, I will weigh the pros and cons.

Shichida kindergarten also has it's pros and cons. Ok, I will write about that next time...

Later all.. Gotta go...

School searching...

2010-07-10T20:58:00.002+08:00

What do you look for to be the "best" school for your children?

I have just decided to embark on a search for another school for my ABC :) Yes, including my A. I believe I will be able to find a better school for them. I am tired with the fickle minded management. I think a school with year end concert will be nice :) Though A's teacher-in-charge told me they will be having one, I asked her "Sure or not?", "Ya. We will see how." hahaha... Plus enrichment classes within the school. It will save me a lot of time fetching them here and there.

Maybe I will be like my cousin who visited 20 schools before selecting the "best" one and only one for her kids. hahaha...

After visiting just one, I was very impressed. Probably I am easy to please ya. I think I will like it when I get monthly review written down for me in detail. 19 more to go! Geesh...

Ok la... gotta go. Today a bit "bo liao"... :p Update again...

June holidays is here!

2010-05-28T11:10:00.004+08:00

The long month-long June holidays is here! There will be changes when school starts. Life gotta be ever changing ya :)

I will be stopping Julia Gabriel playclub for Bernice and Charlene. Tell you why end of the year... :) I will consider Edu Drama on Sat or Sun though. Sat morning is already reserved for swimming. Either Sat afternoon or Sunday. It gotta be the time when the grandma can send them, not having me to send :) hahaha... I can imagine having to employ a driver just to send the kids to and from school, and for their enrichment classes in another one to two years' time.

Aloysius have been in Yamaha music program in JB, and seems to be doing pretty well. I have not attended the lesson with him before, my mum will be the one bringing him for his music classes. It's an hour a week. He can play the piano with right hand and five fingers, and recognise the keys now. Even Bernice and Charlene can sing a few of his songs in "do-re-mi". I gotta buy a DVD and a music CD for him to listen and practice at home. My friend told me to go for individual class after one year. I will see... Getting a teacher for individual is not a problem at all :) Probably I will re-start his violin lessons again. Mommy here needs some time to scout around town.

Come to talk about TV, I got lots to say... hahaha... next time.

I have decided to send Bernice and Charlene for music classes too, starting from this holiday :) And also some art classes. I even have the thought of sending them for art classes everyday during the holidays. So that they will be doing and learning something everyday. Well, being in JB, everything is possible, just need to have one thing. MONEY! Bernice and Charlene are "too young" for the music class, but it became a reality when I told them that I am willing to let them attend two years of the same class, and willing to pay for two years. Yeah! Bernice and Charlene are pretty independent now. They are completely potty trained. They can sing songs and accompany each other very well. Seeing them grow up is indeed a joy.

Today will be a lazy day with the kids in JB :) Thinking of bringing them out to Kukup or a fruits farm later...

Yesterday, we just celebrated Aloysius' birthday in school. He was indeed super happy. It was pretty last minute, but everything went on fine. I asked him what would he like to have for his birthday party. He wanted chocolate banana cake, so we got him one from Secret Recipe. He wanted a spiderman cake, so we got him a big agar-agar in spiderman. Grandma fried some beehoon, aunty got some kuih kuih and curry puffs for the party. I made some cheese bread in Pooh and Tigger. Aloysius also wanted party hats, so daddy got party hats for all his schoolmates. He enjoyed the party and the food. Seeing the smiles and laughters in him is a joy in my heart.

Changes... Big Changes...

2010-04-11T04:11:00.003+08:00

Hi Bloggers!

We have been changing a lot lately. Some may say is a drastic change :)

First of all, Charlene's Shichida's class is now togather with Bernice. Same time, same teacher, same class :) Charlene have been wanting to go to "teacher Jane" class, cos Aloysius and Bernice are with "teacher Jane". So that she's not the odd one out, we decided to change her to the same class with Bernice.

Bernice and Charlene are now attending Julia Gabriel Playclub at East Coast :). I think this will change again in July or September this year. I am thinking of putting them in Shichida kindergarten early. I gotta get the principal to agree to take them in though. hmm... Use my persuasive power! hahaha...

Aloysius misses "teacher Lisa" and "teacher Lori". They are his music teachers. "Teacher Lori" teaches basic music in group, and "teacher Lisa" teaches him violin. hmm... I chose to withdraw cos I do not like the school, more dislike for the receptionist. I felt rather cheated. Before I pay, changing time slots is possible. First is the class with teacher Lori. I "tolerated" going to the class and finish it up. Before I signed up for a term, I was promised that if I need to change a timing, they can do that for me. I have to adapt to the time the lazy receptionist gives me! Then, I changed Aloysius to the afternoon session for kindergarten. I have to change the violin class. And "not available". Well, kindergarten is on the top in priority list. I believe there are many good violin teachers out there though... hmm... not so positive ya :) And worse of all, after coming back from Japan, I called them up for make-up class. Who knows... there's a rule there that every 3 months, only 1 make-up class is allowed! And I signed on the dotted lines to agree with that! Geesh... Bad experience with them. tsk tsk tsk... Not going to Novena Square 2 for music classes already... Now looking out for new music classes and teachers :) Any recommendations? Let me know ya :)

And next big big change is "we have moved!" We have moved to stay with my parents. The move is necessary cos my mum cannot come over to help me anymore. She gotta look after my sis's boy too. We have moved for a few weeks already, and I realised there are huge improvements in my gals' behaviour! hmm... now I wonder whether my maid did anything to my gals, not physically, maybe mentally. My mum realised that she will be laughing away when my gals cry. You know what, I have crying gals when we were in Japan. Is it related? Maybe. I had two occasions with Bernice lying down on the floor, crying and kicking, and refused to be carried. I was puzzled at their behaviour cos Aloysius was not like this. And I did spend enough time with them at home. hmm... I chose to renew this maid, basically cos she's honest and do not steal. I sent her back for a 2 weeks holiday already. I will be renewing her work permit soon. But before that, will be setting my expectations for her, and see if our expectations can meet too. She's asking for a day off per month, plus she got a phone, plus she got a DVD player, plus her higher pay than market. My initial criteria was no days off, no phone, no TV. hmm... and I have been thinking about these for 3 weeks, weighing my risk of problems. Afterall she's human. I guess I gotta trust her that she's old enough to know what to do and what not to do.

We are still in the process of moving. Big items haven't moved yet. Will be putting up in papers to rent out our place though.

Updates...

2010-03-30T18:28:00.004+08:00

It's been some time ago since I last updated.
Well, lots of exciting changes and happenings here.
We have moved to JB :) It's not an easy decision to make. It means more travelling time. Aloysius will still go to Shichida kindergarten. Bernice and Charlene will attend the kindergarten soon, either to start in July 10 or Sep 10.
Bernice and Charlene are now happily adapted to Julia Gabriel playclub with teacher Melissa at East Coast :) She's a fantastic and happy teacher. She's full of energy for the children too. I am very happy in the class too. So, maybe they will stay there till end of the year :). It's just the time commitment from my side that need to be adjusted.
Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene love to attend Shichida Method class too. When we were in Japan, on a Saturday, Aloysius kept pestering us to bring him back to Singapore. hahaha... We asked him "Why?" and he told us that he "need to go to teacher Jane's class tomorrow." hahaha... Then the gals followed him. When we came back, it was the one week term break, and my ABC cannot wait to go back to Shichida Method classes. My goodness! I did not know they love attending classes so much. hmm... the teachers must have done lots of things right to attract them.
Bernice and Charlene just turned two a few days ago. They grew up suddenly. They can speak very well now. Bernice can speak a lot, including reporting to me what happened at home during the day. Charlene can feed herself now. When we were in Japan, I just get a bowl of cereals with milk and a spoon for her. She will sit there to eat and finish the bowl of cereals :) Easy for me :)
Aloysius is still afraid of going for his swim class. I think he's much better than before now. He will adapt to the coach very soon. Last Sunday, we went for a swim as a family. Aloysius kept practicing what he learnt from the coach. He breathed in deeply, close his mouth, and dip his head in the water. I am so proud of him. We had a great time at the swimming pool.
Ok I gotta go... gotta push myself out of the house already... later all...

My Charlene...

2009-12-05T17:10:00.002+08:00

Charlene is 20 months now. And she is completely toilet trained, including the nite. Mommy is very proud of her, but it's rather tiring. Sometimes, I gotta wake up 2 to 3 times a nite to bring her to the toilet. Sometimes, she will only go once. She will wake up and go "urine urine urine!" That will certainly wake me up. Or rather make me jump out of bed. hahaha... I dun wanna get wet with urine!

Charlene loves dancing and singing. She will sing in the car, sing while playing. She has superb pronunciation of words. She loves people to hug her and praise her. She simply loves the attention.

Charlene is going for Shichida method class every Sunday. Sometimes, it's mommy going for class with her. Sometimes it's daddy going for class with her, cos her class is at the same time as Aloysius. She will be with another teacher on Friday from next term. She missed two lessons at the beginning of this term due to the teacher's absence, and I believe that it does make a difference in her development. I gotta work on her interests in flashcards individually. And gotta buck up on her linking memory.

Charlene is good in sharing. She will give in to Bernice or Aloysius sometimes. She will ask "Where ge ge?", "Where Bernice?" when she cannot find them. She loves to play with Thomas and princess. She loves reading too. She will take out the big picture books that I bought for them and ask my helper to read.

Charlene is a very happy girl. She smiles and laughs easily. She will giggle when Bernice plays peek-a-boo with her. She's indeed my wonderful child.

My Bernice...

2009-12-05T16:42:00.002+08:00

Bernice is 20 months now. She was toilet trained at 18 months, but now... back to diapers at nite. Diaper free during the day already. Occasionally, still urine in her shorts. But I am sure she will be off diapers completely very soon.

Mommy brings Bernice for Shichida method class every Thursday. She enjoyed going for class very much. She just changed teacher this term. She adapted to it pretty well though. Bernice is attentive in class most lessons and can complete all the activities given by the teacher. She's quite vocal and has a strong personality. She's speaking sentences already. For example, "Mommy can I have some milk please.", "I want mommy bao bao.", " I want raisins/ bread/ biscuits." She can recognise colors and shapes! And she's excellent in linking memory too. She will follow me when I teach her how to say in class.

Bernice likes singing very much. She can sing many songs now. She loves listening to songs of different languages. When we are in the car, she will sit quietly and listen to either Sawako story or songs.

She's an active gal too. Recently, she's having fun in pulling the toilet tissue in the toilet. She is "ransacking" the cupboards in the kitchen too. But she will put them back after taking them out.

Bernice loves to draw. I was surprised that she can hold the pencil and pens in the proper way. A few days ago, when I brought her with me for Aloysius' meet-the-parents session, the teacher gave her some toys to keep her occupied. But the toys can only keep her interest for a while. Then she started to teacher's pen to draw. So the teacher gave her a piece of paper, crayons and color pencils to draw. Drawing or writing kept her interest for quite some time. I will find more time with her to teach her how to draw horizontal, vertical, circles to start with.

Bernice loves her flashcards sessions very much too. Everytime when I ask "Do you want flashcards?" She will go "Yes." and off she goes to sit on the sofa for "flashcards position".

She's a wonderful and happy girl.

A few days ago, Charlene was playing and hurt herself. Charlene cried "pain, pain!" Guess what Bernice did... She ran to the bathroom, then came running out again towards Charlene, took her hand and stroke her hand while saying "bar bar bar". hahaha... She actually went to the bathroom to get my bar and came out applying for Charlene! It was so funny... She learnt fast indeed! hahaha...

That's all for now about Bernice... Let me write about Charlene next...

My Aloysius...

2009-12-05T13:19:00.004+08:00

I am supposed to go to KL with the family this weekend. But I have lost my passport :( I gotta wait till Monday when the High commissioner is open to apply for a new passport. Hopefully it will not be too much trouble, cos I am going to Penang next weekend! Now, left me home alone by myself. So I got time to blog... hahaha... Not so bad too, ya? :p

I can only imagine the stay at Darby Park suites, the visit to KLCC, the visit up on the sky bridge, etc.

Ok la... I cannot be doing nothing rite? I better work hard on myself over this weekend then...

While replying my emails, I just thought of a very funny incident that I will share with you now. Be prepared to laugh your heads off, or find it disgusting... either way...

Two weeks ago, I brought all the kids for shopping at Robinsons. It was a members' nite hence it's very crowded. We queued up at the cashier for quite some time. The cashier was near a fitting room. Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene were playing near the fitting room. And Aloysius saw a salesgal with lots of pimples on her face. He went up to her and without hesitation with lots of excitement, and said "Lots of pimples, must use bar!" He repeated it a few times! My helper and I heard him. I did not know where to hide my face. hahaha... I did not teach him that lots of pimples need to use bar. Probably he learnt it from one of the functions that I brought him to. I will bring him to my business functions sometimes to give him some exposure. But very rarely now cos he cannot sit down quietly.

hmm... How to "teach" him to be able to sit quietly? Any suggestions?

I haven't got time to read up on that yet. He seems to be in another stage of development. His teachers feedback that he's very active in class. He will be walking around during class time and snack time. He learnt things very fast though. Although he's walking around, he's still listening to his teachers.

I started sending him for Kamome Japanese classes this term. Since it's half price cos he's attending the kindergarten, so might as well. However, I might have to withdraw him after he finishes this term. His teacher recommended that he's not suitable for the class cos he's disturbing due to his activeness. Plus the class is for 4 and above. hmm... The Japanese class teacher is cannot be strict to the students in order to make lessons fun and enjoyable. Ok... I dunno what to comment. Afterall he's still a kid. I cannot educate him when I do not even know what happened. And he gotta be educated that what he did was not appropriate. The week before the coordinator called me up, something happened in class. I heard from his Shichida method teacher that she heard lots of noise from the Jap class that lesson. Aloysius started the "chaos" that the teacher could not control, cos the other boys in class followed his shouting and jumping. There are 3 other boys in class too. 4 boys shouting and jumping with excitement in class! Probably the teacher was stressed out. We sat down over a discussion with his Shichida Method teacher and the Kamome program manager. The decision was to let him finish up the lessons for the term. On my side, I am repeatedly telling him to sit down quietly in class when teacher is teaching, and also listening to teacher's instructions. Hopefully by the end of the term, he is being accepted again. His Shichida Method teacher reckons that he do not know the expectations in the class, hence the "misbehaviour". Afterall, young children do not know what is "good" or "bad" until you tell them.

I just signed up music classes for Aloysius too. It's a foundation to musical instruments. And also I signed myself up for 4 trial classes of violin and 4 classes of guitar :) I will bring Aloysius into the violin and guitar classes. We will start the lessons next week. If he likes it, I will sign up for the next term. I was told that the 4 classes of violin is enough for us to know how to play "twinkle twinkle little stars"! It sounds cool. I am looking forward to that. These 3 classes are back to back on Saturday! Yeah! Something new and interesting...

Ok... I better go and get things done... I can go on and on forever... Later all...

Visit to the chicken farm.

2009-12-02T18:56:00.007+08:00

This is the third time that Aloysius visited a chicken farm. This time, when we visited the chicks were only 3 days' old. Aloysius enjoyed chasing after the chicks and catching them. He enjoyed catching some chicks to the water and food trying to feed them.

This is Bernice's second time at the chicken farm. She enjoyed chasing after the chicks and driving them to a corner. She's not ready to catch the chicks on her own yet though.

Charlene was very tired when we were at the chicken farm. She was waken up in the middle of her nap, so she wanted to be carried throughout. She managed to hold a chick though.

Aloysius was the only boy among 5 girls. hahaha... Look at his face! It looks like the girls are chasing after him.

Charlene and Bernice loves sitting inside the wooden tub. They played inside it for quite a while. Climbing in and out many times. They have very sweet smiles, haven't they?

Project work by child and parents.

2009-12-02T18:48:00.002+08:00

It's now the school holidays. On the last day of school, we were given the chance to do a project presentation with Aloysius. It was a last minute decision for us on the topic to present cos daddy and mummy had been busy. When the teachers asked me if we were going to present anything, I was a bit hesitant to say yes. hahaha... Well, it turned out excellent!

Daddy did a powerpoint presentation about "My family" with Aloysius. Mommy accompanied Aloysius to sing with the microphone. Aloysius chose the song himself. He chose "yue liang dai biao wo de xin". It was an enjoyable evening with presentations of other children and parents.

My ABC in Nov09.

2009-12-02T18:44:00.002+08:00

Busy with happy children!

2009-08-11T01:02:00.002+08:00

Hello bloggers!

Very long time since I wrote last. Hope all of you are doing very well like me :)

I have been very busy, but very happy with my happy children. I have been busy with my exponentially growing business. The teething problems in the beginning has been more or less sorted out. This is why I have not been blogging regularly. Don't worry, I have not forgotten about you...

Aloysius is very happy attending Shichida Kindergarten. His teachers like him a lot. Even the aunty who does all the cooking also likes him a lot. When I pick him up from school, his teachers and the aunty frequently tell me that they like him a lot. Of course, as his mother, I am very happy :) Aloysius will greet them in the morning too. He loves to go to school. I do not really know what he was taught exactly. I trust that he's well taught in school.

Bernice and Charlene are growing very well too. They are almost toilet trained now. They are 16 months old now. They will tell aunty when they want to urine or poo during the day time. Last week when we went out, when we were in the car, Charlene told aunty that she wanted to urine. Oops... She got no choice but to urine in the diaper. hmm... mommy here kinda dread the outing and night toilet training :p It will mean lots of waking up on my part to bring them to the toilet, plus the night feeds. Faintz...

Bernice and Charlene can also sing a few songs. They can sing "twinkle twinkle little star", "ke ren lai", "ABC", and one Japanese song. Sometimes, when they are well rested, they will wake up and sing on the bed. It's really very cute to hear them sing. Sometimes, Charlene will dance too. Sometimes when they listen to Sawako in foreign languages, they will try to imitate Sawako :) This morning, Charlene imitated her "san ee" when she was talking on the phone. She went "hello, ba ba ba ba ba..." hahaha...

Ok gotta go... Charlene wakes... later all...

Photos time!

2009-06-24T09:34:00.007+08:00

Aloysius' birthday party in school. Everyone has a party hat and a souvenir for the party.

Photo time with his dedicated teachers. These are most of his schoolmates in the morning session.

Bernice and Charlene sitting on a bench under a big tree, enjoying some natural sweet berries from the tree.

Aloysius enjoying running around in the padi field, and throwing stones into the "drain". It was a very hot day though.

Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene sitting on the table in a Thai restaurant before lunch was served. Everyone was so hungry after visiting the padi fields and the fisherman village.

Penang!

2009-06-18T00:50:00.004+08:00

We just came back from a trip to Penang for 4 days. It was Bernice and Charlene first trip on the flight. They were very good gals on the flight. Aloysius sat through the journey. They were all very excited about getting on the aeroplane when we reached the airport early in the morning.

Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene love it when we reached my aunt's place. There's a big space for them to run around, plus a big playground directly outside the house. The playground is easily 5 times the playground that we have downstairs. They went wild like being set free from a cage! They enjoyed themselves thoroughly everyday. There are a few brothers and sisters to play with them and look after them too :) That relieve me to chat with my cousins and talk about business in peace. kekeke... They ate sweet and juicy natural mangoes plucked from the tree just beside the house everyday. Yummy...

My cousins, nieces and nephews absolutely enjoyed playing with my ABC.

On the first day of our arrival, me and hubby went to Arthur's BIG house at Batu Ferringi. We went without the kids :) We went durian "hunting" around Batu Ferringi area. We were in a big group of about 28 people from Singapore. We achieved a certain level and were being invited to Arthur's house warming. I did not realise there's so much to know about durians! Do you know there are branded durians? Just like we have branded bags like LV, Gucci... What about the art of eating durians? wow... An eye opener for me, or rather a mouth opener. The D24 that we talk about in Singapore is no where near. The super branded ones need to be booked in advance some more! Geesh... never did I know there's so much about branded durians! We finished all the durians at the stall we went, and divert other cars that wanna stop. hahaha... Of course, Arthur foot the bill :p

When we reached his house, I was in awe. I finally get to see his 9 walls that cost RM100,000 each. You know what, even the durian seller knows that he stays there and his car plate number. His house is really a dream home which everyone will want to own. It's among the hustle and bustle of Batu Ferringi, just opposite Shangri La hotel, but still has the serenity when in the compound of his home. It's the largest house in Batu Ferringi. The house has full sea view. At one part of the house, there's nature with cooling breeze. He showed us the corner with the sunset during sunset. He's going to build a wooden pavillion at that corner. Imagine reading a book or just sitting there to relax during the beautiful golden sunset. I noticed a ship passing by during sunset, and it turned golden in colour. Very beautiful scene...

I love his waterfall too! It's real granite stones! His property sits on a hill with big granite stones! The waterfall cannot be copied, so it's the one and only one.

I was impressed with the crystals chandeliers, and the hand made bronze glass lamps around the compound of the property. Beautiful... and amazing...

Arthur gave us a small talk about living our dreams, and the opportunity to own a dream home like his. It really expanded our mind and horizon.

My dreams is more concrete now. Do you have a dream?

Gotta go...

Five, four, four, one, one.

2009-05-26T09:56:00.002+08:00

You must be wondering what is the significance of five, four, four, one, one :) haha... 5 digits for you to choose to buy 4D and sure strike ;) hahaha...

Ok, let's come to the main point :)

I just attended SAB convention at Expo last Saturday. The convention benefited me and my group a lot. I am glad that I attended with a big group :) I am sure this convention will change the life of everyone who spent their time to attend the convention for the better. It was an inaugural convention in Singapore. During the convention, many had their mind expanded. hmm... You might be thinking what is it to expand our mind. If you want to grow to the next level, you need to expand your mind. Your mind is like your muscles. The more you allow it to be expanded, the more it will grow and the stronger it will get. In SAB, I have a coach who will expand my mind and my horizon every time I meet him.

During the convention, Arthur showed us his "house" that took years to "renovate". His house really looks like a castle with all the 9 hand arranged granite walls. Just the cost of one of his walls, we can buy a Mercedes! The house sits on a hill top at Batu Ferringgi with sea facing all around! The interior is very beautiful with hand picked crystals chandelier. I also noticed the leather sofa. Those sofa really look not cheap. I was in awe looking at the photos. I cannot wait to go to his house on 7 June 2009 for his house warming :) I am proud that I qualify to go to his house already. I want to bring 5-10 people from my group to go to his beautiful house in Penang. I shall see if I can bring Aloysius along too. I want to give him the exposure that I am having now. He also shared how happy his 4 children are now. I also want to give my children this kind of happiness. It's a different level, Arthur always says. It's a bit chim though, but slowly I am starting to see what he means by "a different level". In SAB, it seems like the top leaders are not interested in cars at all. Cars is just a means of travelling everywhere, can take many people to functions, and most importantly, can contain many cartons of the facial bars for the day. All are going for boats and yatchs! hahaha... Arthur's influence. It's a "different level" of achievement, I guess. In the last seminar, Arthur showed me a catalog for boats. They are very beautiful. I was like "wow"!

Ok, I better stop writing about Arthur's house, else I will be going on and on. Health time now.

Five, four, four, one, one:
At the convention, we had the honour of having Dr. Wong from Sydney to present to us about health and the microalgae that we have in all our products range. To see Dr. Wong in Sydney, you will need to book him 3 months in advance! When he was speaking, I was not really listening to him 100% :p I was preparing for my speech. I have been very busy to even sit down to prepare for my speech. I gonna speak to about 400 people! On top of that, I have a group of supporters and coachees! It's different from speaking at T. Harv Eker seminars! Because whatever I say up on stage now will matter and impact my people. I am a person who don't like to talk a lot. Worse if it's on stage! I have no choice in SAB. I gotta become a speaker else how to lead a big group of people? My coach always tells me. Ok, on the positive side. When my ABC can sit through for a few hours, I will bring them for conventions and seminars and presentations to give them the exposure that mommy and daddy also can lead the masses from the stage :)

Back to 5,4,4,1,1.
I managed to catch these numbers. It's a rule of our daily diet. It means 5 cups of vegetables, 4 cups of fruits, 4 colours, 1 cup of nuts, 1 cup of seafood. This is a healthy diet. 1 cup of seafood here refers to only seafood without shells, seafood with scales. What is it? It's none other than fish! He recommended fishes like tuna and salmon. hmm... looking at the recommendation, I am proud that my ABC are in line with this diet, but I gotta increase the fruits part. And introduce fish to Bernice and Charlene when they turn 18 months.
hmm... I will slowly introduce meat to Aloysius in view that he will need to eat for entertainment sometimes when he grows up. Last month, when we had satay at home, he wanted to have a stick too. So, I gave one to him. He only had a bite and threw it away. Maybe the taste is too strong for his liking. Oh yes, if you wanna bribe Aloysius with ice-cream, it will not work. hahaha... My brother bought an ice cream machine and made some ice-cream. My parents tried to get Aloysius to eat ice-cream, but he's not used to it and is not interested in it. Perhaps, a better option to bribe Aloysius is Chloreana and nMA :) Dr. Wong talked about the goodness and benefits of Chloreana, nMA and Fibrena too. I am glad that my ABC love Chloreana, nMA and Fibrena.

Another stream of numbers that I can remember from Dr. Wong's talk is one, two , three. hahaha... I am a number person, maybe that's why I am attracted to these numbers. This one, two, three is how many times you go to the toilet to move your bowels. If you do not go one, two, or three times a day, you are not very healthy.

Ok, I gotta stop here. Going out for appointment soon. Later all.

Leadership for Aloysius?

2009-05-20T10:21:00.006+08:00

Last week, Aloysius' teachers were very impressed with him. Teacher Huimin, Aloysius' Shichida kindy teacher, told me that she got teacher Jane, Aloysius' Shichida method teacher, to help to look after the class for a while. Aloysius was leading the class and could remember all the names of his classmates and introduced his classmates to teacher Jane.

Then, on Sunday, when I saw teacher Jane, she told me that Aloysius was like a monitor for the class. When teacher Jane stepped into the class, all the other children were surprised and stared at her. Then Aloysius went up to teacher Jane and said "Hello teacher Jane." Then Aloysius told the class "This is teacher Jane, say hello". hahaha... He must have been so cute. And all his classmates started to wave and said "hello teacher Jane". Then teacher Jane asked him if he could introduce his classmates to her. Aloysius then introduced all his classmates and names to teacher Jane.

Of course, as a mother, I was delighted to hear that :) I have been wanting him to become a leader :) I do believe in leadership. Leadership is nurtured, it's not born with. I am being forced to become a leader now. And I must do it well to show my kids :) I am very fortunate to be able to learn from 2 fantastic and successful leaders.

Ok gotta go... later all...

Photos time!

2009-05-02T11:43:00.006+08:00

Happiness - Does it exist?

2009-04-19T18:48:00.005+08:00

Recently, I have been listening to tapes by John Kehoe. In his view, happiness does not exist. It's in the inner world. We live in two worlds - inner world and outer world. Wah... Chim eh? I also find it chim. kekeke... I am sure there's lots to talk about when it comes to defining "happiness". My definition might not agree with your definition. My definition comes from my life experiences, and my life journey. My definition of happiness might change as I grow wiser too :)

Lately, I have been meeting many with broken marriages. Is it unhappiness that lead to divorces? Probably. hmm... I have a "perfect" family and a "perfect" husband and a "perfect" relationship. Friends around who know both me and my husband will look to us for a "happy" and "ideal" marriage and family. We are like their model for a "perfect" marriage and family life. In the beginning when I met divorcee, I thought "Is the universe telling me to watch out my own marriage? Will I end up like them?" I was a little bit shaken and lost. But not for long, luckily. After meeting a handful, I felt that the universe is sending me a message to strengthen my relationship with my husband further and be able to help others and be their role model. :) I will continue to be the role model for others and at a higher level.

Ok, let me go into something not so "chim" ya? I am excited to update about my ABC.

Aloysius is very happy in Shichida kindergarten. His weekly Shichida method class still goes on. He will continue till he's six years old. Why six? According to Professor Shichida Makoto, one's IQ can only be improved before six years old. Aloysius' daily flashcards session by me is reduced due to my time constraint. I rather reduce it than having too much stress for myself. He still loves his flashcards sessions with me. I will do them on and off when I am more relaxed and have some time. Another thing is that in the kindergarten, he will be shown 300 cards daily. That's a plus point in sending him to this kindergarten. It reduces my flashcards and teaching load a little :) It allows me more time for Bernice and Charlene.

A few days ago, I had a chat with Aloysius teachers at the kindergarten. The teachers came up to me to "complain" to me that Aloysius cannot sit still to eat his snack. hahaha... I told the teacher that for him to sit still to finish his food during meal times, he need to play with something or do some writing. We started to have a chat. By the way, my hubby took Aloysius for appointment first and he left seeing me with his teachers. His teachers told me that he has superb memory. I am also very delighted to hear that he's well liked by all the teachers. His chinese teacher was very impressed that she taught the class a new song, and Aloysius sang the song after she finished. His Shichida method teacher at the kindergarten commented that he has super memory. She taught the class something new and Aloysius knew what was taught to the class immediately, and led the class in the activities. His teachers also mentioned that he was singing Japanese songs in class. Apart from the English and Chinese songs, he has been trying to sing German songs at home too. German language is my favourite, so they get to listen to German songs often at home. His teacher also noticed that he loves red color, and will complete whatever he starts. For example, when he starts singing, he will finish the song first before he will listen to his teacher's instructions. I am glad that he will complete what he starts. This is one of the key to success in life. Aloysius will be a successful and great leader when he grows up :)

I will start swimming lessons for Aloysius soon. No need to go to Ang Peng Siong school at this stage though. Piano classes will start when he turns 4. I believe that his exposure to Shichida classes will nurture him to be able to pick things very fast. With my time contraints, I will concentrate on the Shichida way for now.

At one year old, Bernice is already running and has walked miles. She can recognise shapes - triangle, square and circle. Last week, at her Shichida method class, she surprised me further that she knows colors! In one of the activities, I told her to pick the red, pink and yellow flowers for me and she picked the correct ones for me! Bernice can say papa, mama, ye ye, por por, ge ge, bread, biscuit, that". She will imitate me when I teach her what are the names of the things. Very soon, she will be talking. Bernice loves to go out. She knows that before going out, she will have to wear her shoes. Sometimes, she will want to wear her shoes at home. She simply loves going out. She will want to follow when daddy goes to work. I will bring her down the lift and walk for a while. I do flashcards sessions for Bernice daily too. She prefers pictures and stories more at this stage. As for dots, I still got to figure out how to get her more interested. Probably the cards are too big and my flashing speed is not fast enough. She's a fast and eager learner. Perhaps my "tai jiao" did pay off. Sometimes, when listening to songs, she will go "ti ti ta ta" as if singing togather with the music.

Charlene has very cool personality. When she talks, her pronunciation is accurate. She knows how to say papa, mama, ye ye, por por, ge ge, that, I want. She will wave and say bye bye. Charlene knows what she wants, and will communicate to us persistently till she gets what she wants. She also knows how to bend for a kiss. She's my very sweet girl. Sometimes, she will want to sit in one of the strollers at home inside the house. hahaha... she enjoys wearing her shoes too. I also do flashcards with Charlene daily. She has excellent concentration. She has walked miles too. She loves to explore around the house and also not forgetting the things around the house. Charlene loves it when we says "it's shower time". It means time to play with and splash water! She prefers to shower in the bathroom in my room and will insist on that. Charlene will smile when we say "smile" when taking a photo for her.

I am enjoying their existence. Both the gals will play with each other everyday when Aloysius goes to school. They love hide and seek with each other too. It's lots of fun to see them playing with each other happily and giggling away. They will chase after each other too.

Aloysius is toilet trained, even at night :). He will wake up at night and open the door to walk to the toilet, and even remembers to flush the toilet. It caught me by surprise. I think the key is to keep him dry at night by bringing him to the toilet in the middle of the night. My hubby has been doing this for many months already. Bernice and Charlene is in the toilet training journey already. I am sure they will be toilet trained in no time. Bernice will say "uh oh" when she or Charlene urines on the floor.

Gotta go... later all... Will upload some photos next time :)

Down with Roseola.

2009-03-04T11:11:00.002+08:00

Charlene was down with Roseola last week. And this week, it's Bernice's turn to be down with Roseola. I brought Charlene to the PD last week though. Cos Charlene's fever went very high and came down very low again. hmm... The effects of the medication is still inside her :( The PD asked me if Charlene was cranky. She was fine. But the PD keep telling me that she will be cranky due to the itchiness and discomfort of the rashes. I did not find Charlene cranky. What I did was apply my bar on her. My bar has anti-bacteria, anti-inflammatory properties. Perhaps it did help in curbing the itchiness.

As expected, Bernice is having Roseola now. I did the same for her. Feed her nMA, Chloreana. And apply the bar on her on and off. The only place that I did not apply is the head. This morning, Bernice was trying to scratch her head and a little bit cranky. She's fine after her shower. I use the bar to shower all of them.

Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene indeed love nMA and Chloreana! Bernice and Charlene can recognise the packaging for them! When my mum was holding the big bottle of Chloreana, Bernice and Charlene rushed to her and asking for some. hahaha...

Despite giving them supplements on and off, they still fall sick. I guess I just gotta be more consistent in giving them nMA to build up their immunity now. I have been quite complacent about their immunity, hence forgot to feed them when I was busy. I don't think I will delegate the feeding of nMA to the maid. It's too good and expensive to waste even a little. There's once when she threw away my nMA by mistake.

It's really not easy to take care of three. Really need lots of time and patience. When I looked after one part of their development, I overlook another part of their development. This time I overlooked their immunity. Hopefully all of them will be well togather again. Sometimes, I told myself that I only have a pair of hands, a pair of eyes. hmm... Am I putting limitations on my abilities? :p Perhaps...

Today, I have decided to have some rest :) I need to rest a little to have a clearer mind for more great things to come by :) Aloysius went to school, Bernice and Charlene are having their nap. And me typing here. Good or good?

Well, my packed and useful morning is gone for today :) Every morning, I will dedicate time for my ABC to show them flashcards. This morning, I had a writing session with Aloysius instead. Both of us enjoyed it very much. I was surprised at how well he can draw and write now. I spoke to Aloysius's teacher yesterday. At the kindergarten, the kids will be shown 300 flashcards daily. The cards shown to them are arranged and given by the Shichida Method teacher. That lighten my teaching role a little :)

I am looking forward to the parents' class. Bernice and Charlene will be starting their Shichida Method classes in April 09 :)

Shichida kindergarten.

2009-02-12T00:19:00.002+08:00

It's marketed as a "mini university". hmm... perhaps.
I would say they are more settled than the first few weeks. The teachers know what to do now.
Aloysius still loves to attend school. He only has 5 other classmates. It is small, but is good for him. I hope this small group will last longer. hahaha... So take your time to search around ok? Don't join SK so soon :p The teachers in the nursery classes and K1 classes also know the kids in the Pre-N class. There's a close bonding between the kids and teachers. Aloysius now know how to remove and wear his shoes on his own. He feeds himself in school. I know these are nothing fantastic to talk about. He knows all his teachers. Some of his classmates were toilet trained by the teachers. They get to play with all the IQ genius, noddy fun book, etc from the Tensai shop everyday. I was thinking even if I buy all those games from Tensai, I might not have the time to play togather with Aloysius. I am glad that the playing and teaching of those IQ games were outsourced to his teachers :) kekeke... Oh yes, I had a taste of doing homework with him last weekend! It takes a lot of discipline for mommy here to get the homework done.
Two days ago, I asked his Shichida method teacher in the kindergarten about his progress. I was told to let him play more playdoh and expose him more to writing. This is something that I will start working on. I gotta strengthen his fingers. hmm... I remember from Glen Doman books, brachiation is good for writing too. Since mommy here haven't been very successful in brachiation, I gotta find some other ways. Any suggestion? His language is fine though.
Ok, I think I better stop here. I am not in the mood to write... No deep feelings to write about... :) I better go and prepare the flashcards for tomorrow. Good night...

Charlene is a toddler!

2009-02-12T00:12:00.002+08:00

At ten and a half months, Charlene finally got the courage to walk on her own. She has been walking for 2-3 steps for a while already, and today she walked many steps. She's now a toddler!

My mistake.

2009-02-11T23:36:00.003+08:00

I made a terrible mistake by giving Charlene a suppository for fever in desperation :( We spent part of our CNY in KKH. I had a few sleepless nights. The medication worked too well for her till her fever became hypothermia. It's really my fault for not checking out more about the medication and not thinking more before giving it to her. Her temperature went down to 34.5degC. Her cries were weak. She was sweating throughout the journey back, and her whole body was cold. She refused to drink water and was sleeping all the time. At that time, we were in Muar visiting relatives. We rushed back and went straight to KKH emergency, and ended up spending 3 days in the hospital. Luckily, there's no traffic jam at the causeway. It was not a pleasant experience for sure. It hurt me to see her being poked for blood test and intravenous drip. The houseman did not get the intravenous drip right the first time. Charlene cried weakly with tears, and I could not do anything to help her. Then her urine gotta be drawn for testing to see if it's UTI. Anyway, she was given anti-biotics for both lung and urine infection, even before the tests results were out. I find it not so logical having to stay in the hospital just to wait for the tests results, and the report will take a long 48 hours. She was uncomfortable with the drips on her foot. She kicked and rubbed her feet. The drip came off with lots of blood everywhere the bed :( Luckily, the intravenous anti-biotics could be switched to oral ones. That saved her another round of pain.

Mommy here gotta be able to withstand the stress from people around us in times when the kids are not well, and stay calm to be able to think properly.

From this incident, I can see that Aloysius and Bernice are understanding and can be quite independent without mommy. While I stayed in the hospital all the time with Charlene, Bernice and Aloysius were taken care of by my mum and maid. Both daddy and mommy spent a few nights in the hospital togather with Charlene. I am glad that they are very understanding children. They slept when tired and played when awake. Everyday, I will spend some time with Aloysius and Bernice, though it's short. But they were happy kids for the rest of the day.

Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene.

2009-01-20T00:49:00.006+08:00

I just cannot fall asleep now. Maybe it's due to the chinese tea I had during dinner with a friend from America. Or could be due to the excitement about how to bring my business to the next level after meeting Nicholas. I still remember my promise of giving him a Mercedes S class, just by dropping the key in his letter box as a gift of appreciation. I believe that I will achieve it in 2009 with the bars business.

I am doing this for my ABC too. As all parents do, I want to be able to give them the "best" in life. "Best" is perceived by us depending on our experiences and ability and levels we have achieved in life. What is "best" for your children for you? It might be different from my "best". I want to achieve wealth in the blood. I remember Nicholas telling me about giving our children the taste of luxury of life, then letting them decide whether they want the luxury and if they want, they will work for it. His philosophy is that without tasting luxury, one do not know what is luxury and do not even know it exists. It's different if one haven't tasted the luxury of life. I am not brought up in a very rich family. I have not tasted the luxury of life before. After knowing Nicholas, Arthur, and being with my cousins who are rich now, it broaden my horizon. I started to see a bigger picture of life. I have tasted chinese tea that cost more than $2,000 per pot. I am indeed very blessed that I have someone who has really made it in life to go to for advice.

Ok.. gotta go and settle Charlene. All 3 have been sick for a week.

Proud mommy!

2009-01-09T00:59:00.003+08:00

Ok. Now I have some time to write. Later I gonna read my Shichida's books to gain more insight and solutions for my current challenges.

It's past midnite now, a few hours ago was my birthday :) The day before, we had a small celebration at home. Aloysius helped to fix the candles on the candle sticks and poke them on the cake. The first 2 candles were poked in with too much strength. Aloysius learnt to control his strength subsequently :) He sang me a complete birthday song too :) And he helped me to blow the candles. His candles blowing skill has improved tremendously also. I enjoyed every moment of the celebration.

Bernice can walk at 9 months old! I am so proud that she can actually walk 8 steps tonite. A week ago, she started to make 1 tiny step. When we were in Bali, she started to fall in love with standing. I can see that Bernice is someone who will not be afraid to try anything. I hope this energy will stay with her for life. Never try never know. Just fricking do it!

Charlene is able to see through at least 100 flashcards in a session. She has very good concentration span. When she found something new, she will sit there and explore on her own too. She likes exploring with her fingers. She can even pinch (using her thumb and pointer) on something and put into her mouth.

Every morning, I will do flashcards sessions for my ABC. So, if there's any phone calls in the morning, I will probably not pick up, cos I am usually very busy. I have to finish the flashcards sessions by 10am daily, and start to get ready to send Aloysius to school. I do separate flashcards sessions for all of them since their attention span are different.

Aloysius simply loves going to school. He likes his teachers too. His journey going to school is very interesting everyday. He will walk to the MRT station with me. Along the way he will explore things and look at the vehicles passing by. For example, today he heard the siren of an ambulance and the siren of a fire engine, then he saw two ambulances, mini buses, small van, big van, etc. Mommy here sometimes is confused on the names of the vehicles. hahaha... Today he explored the leaves too. On Monday, he saw dog's poo on the pavement. There's so much to learn about his environment. I am very happy that I am there to teach him when his interests is there.

The feedback from the parents who stayed in the class was that Aloysius is very independent. When we reach school, he will run to his classroom. I will help him to put his bag in the cupboard, then say goodbye to him. He will wave goodbye to me and start to play with the things in the classroom. The teacher assistant will bring him to the toilet during class time. He had an "accident" on the second day of school. It's probably his English teacher did not know what he was talking about when he says "urine". Aloysius does not understand "shee shee" for urine. The teachers are getting to know the kids better. I think Aloysius is well liked by the teachers and staffs in the school. As long as Aloysius is happy in the school, I am happy :) One of the target for Shichida kindergarten for 3 years old is to be able to count 1 to 150. So far, Aloysius know 1 to 100 already. This will be a new challenge for him. The teachers will not be concentrating in phonics. I think they will be concentrating on words recognition. Aloysius already know his alphabets well, both capital and small letters, plus the sound of the letters. The most recent addition for his speed reading cards are keywords from the stories :) I am hoping that he will recognise more words. He can recognise the words of the categories of his flashcards already. I am not very sure if it's necessary to teach him spelling though I have already started a little. He has one classmate at Shichida Method who knows how to spell very well. This classmate's mum can mix up the letters of a word and she will be able to arrange the letters to form the word! It's really amazing! She's barely 3 years old.

I am still procrastinating on going to the library to borrow books about nature to read to him. Aloysius now knows that getting dark, sunny days, raining, lightning, thunder, etc. are all nature. And mommy cannot control nature. I would love to read about why it gets dark, why the sun comes out in the morning, why there's rain, why there's lightning and thunder, etc. to him. I still yet to find the time to go to the library to do some research.

Aloysius went to school.

2009-01-03T08:08:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was Aloysius’ first day in school. You must be wondering which school he is attending. Well, mommy here did not visit many schools before deciding. I only put him on waitlist at Nanyang kindergarten and his waitlist number is above 200. I think there’s not much hope there. Then new Shichida kindergarten was being planned. I did not have time to attend the Shichida Kindergarten opening talk by Mrs. Khoo, so I called Mrs Wong a few times in December to ask about how it is going to be like. After some survey and feedback, I narrowed down to either Mindchamps childcare or Shichida kindergarten. I visited these two. On 30 Dec 08, we visited Shichida Kindergarten at Tanjong Pagar. Then we visited both Mindchamps and Shichida Kindergarten at Toa Payoh on 31 Dec 08. hee… a bit last minute rite? I was quite particular of the food Aloysius will be given in class. I looked through the menu, and I will prefer the one at Shichida Kindergarten. I am not for too much meat, food with preservatives, and the highly processed food.

When we were visiting Shichida Kindergarten, we met Mrs. Khoo. I had a chat with her. I could feel her passion and confidence in the Shichida Kindergarten. I paid and left. I learnt quite a lot from her on parenting. She’s a mother of 4. Probably when I have more time, I will write about what I learnt from her. Just a little here. I asked about when to start music classes. She recommends age 4. I also asked her how to cope when all my 3 kids cry at the same time. Hahaha… Sometimes I really lose my cool. She said just say that they are making music together, and the music is beautiful. Another tip is concentrate nurturing the first child and the rest will follow. Hmm… I kinda agree to that yesterday.fv

Ok, back to Aloysius’ first day in school. He was very happy in school. We met the form teacher and I was given a feedback book. Aloysius has 6 other classmates, but only 4 turned up on the first day. I can see Aloysius being a vocal boy in class. He enjoyed the imaginary play room, brainatics room, art room. He also enjoyed his snack! It was mee sua soup, banana and honey lemon drink for Friday.

Ok, I gotta go… Just another brief note. Bernice and Charlene are about 9 months old. They are standing and pushing things to walk. Very soon they will be walking. They are very vocal indeed and dislike it when their things were being snatched away. They are my very happy girls. It’s a very different kind of happiness which I cannot describe having twins. It’s very fun to see them growing up together. In fact, it is more than fun, but I do not know how to describe. Aloysius can play with them sometimes. All 3 of them love to crawl around the house and chasing after one another.

Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene are my precious happy children :)

Trip to Bali.

2008-12-17T16:41:00.003+08:00

It has been some time since I wrote. I have been very busy with life. After going through a few courses and coaching, I realized the time I spent online is a form of avoidance for me. I have successfully stop surfing the web daily. On top of that, I do not have much time for surfing the web. Sometimes, I do not even have time for emails.

We just came back from Bali. It was a magical and wonderful experience till I do not feel like coming home already. We went to Bali for my sister’s wedding. It was indeed a magical wedding comes true for her, according to her. Everything was put together nicely and smoothly by her wedding planner. Two nights before the wedding was a big surprise with a night stay in a villa at Bulgari resort. And not forgetting a sumptuous dinner at the restaurant inside the resort. I was pampered with a creatively decorated main course of foie gras and duck breast too, followed by a beautifully decorated dessert. My hubby and I reached the villa when the couple already in the villa. We managed to catch a short moment of a guitarist playing and singing as we entered into the villa. The bathroom is bigger than my room at home! And the bathtub was filled and decorated with sweet scented rose petals and orchids. Wow! It was very romantic indeed. Plus the beautiful scenery of the sea in front of the villa was awesome. Only my sis and her hubby stayed at the Bulgari villa, and the rest went back to B Villa for the night. We left the kids at B Villa when we went to Bulgari resort for dinner. This place is more for couples. My ABC only get to go there for a while when they are checking out the next day. Of course, we remembered to take a family photo.

After checking out from Bulgari resort, we checked into a villa at St. Regis together with my parents. It was about an hour drive away. The wedding ceremony was at St. Regis instead of Bulgari due to the capacity we wanted. We were expecting about 60 very close friends and close relatives at the wedding. The villa is bigger than the one at Bulgari. We were really pampered with the efficient butler service. ABC got to stay there for a night. 5 of us fit comfortably on the super king sized bed. Oh yes, we also tasted the delicious French ice cream at the Gourmet Deli. The villa was big enough with lots of space for Aloysius to run around, and Bernice and Charlene to creep around and explore the new surrounding. They had lots of fun there. Uncle Donald brought Aloysius to the beach to play with the sand and the sea water too. Mommy here did not even get the chance to go to the beach. I was busy with some of the preparation for the wedding the next day. Breakfast at St. Regis was extremely sumptuous. There are dishes like foie gras, sashimi, oyster… gulp… too much for me for breakfast.

The couples got a night’s stay at “Cloud Nine” villa, which is just beside the chapel. They checked into “Cloud Nine” early in the morning. We had all the play on the brothers before proceeding to B Villa for tea ceremony, where most of the relatives were already waiting. After the tea ceremony, we had a treat at Trattoria for lunch. Everything went smoothly.

At about 5pm, the wedding ceremony started in the chapel. The chapel is very nicely located by the beach with 4 sides of see through glass. The chapel is facing the sea, and surrounded with water. It was very beautifully decorated with fresh flowers, and fresh rose petals by the aisle. It was indeed a magical wedding ceremony. Towards the end of the wedding ceremony, the sun started to set. It was wonderful to experience to see the sun setting on the right side of the chapel, and the full moon rising from the left side of the chapel. Wow… It was like experiencing something that I had only read in fairytale.

After the wedding ceremony, there’s an half an hour fire dancing show. Aloysius enjoyed singing and playing with the drums before the start of the show. While the guests were enjoying the show, the tables and buffet line were being set up. The place was being re-decorated for the dinner. It was very beautiful and romantic to have fresh flowers and candles floating on the water.

Overall, the whole wedding was magical, unforgettable and beautiful, though it was the first time for St. Regis Bali to hold such a big wedding. The head chef from France was also there to oversee the buffet spread. The whole trip makes me wanna have a renewal of vow. Not only me, most of my relatives also want to "get married again"!

I think for this kind of feeling for all the guests in a wedding, an excellent wedding planner is needed. My sis dream wedding is created by "Sedan of Love".

Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene enjoyed their stay in Bali as much as we did. Home sweet home…

Celebrate!

2008-11-27T13:05:00.002+08:00

Just a quick post.

I have been very busy everyday. Hardly have time for the internet. My priority now is check my emails when I have the time to log in. Sometimes, I do not even have enough time for emails. I gotta locked myself in the room to do my things :)

I am a warrior, I do whatever it takes :)
Hee... I went for a warrior camp in October 08 :)

Aloysius is almost potty trained for bed time! For many many many nights, we gotta bring him to the toilet twice a nite to prevent bed wetting. Last nite, we were so tired. Aloysius woke up and said "potty potty potty". Drowsy mommy heard him but ignored him. Then he shouted "urine urine urine". I jumped up the bed! hahaha... Can you imagine the tired and happy and "kan cheong" me jumped up the bed to bring him to the toilet to urine!

Bernice and Charlene are crawling everywhere now. They are also holding to stand. They can let go of holding to anything to stand for a few seconds now. They are exactly 8 months old.

We will be off to Bali in a couple of weeks :) Gotta start packing their things and buying their clothes, shoes, accessories, for er-ee's wedding in Bali and the week after in Raffles hotel back in Singapore.

Ok gotta go... Gonna go out buy lunch for me and maid. And also flashcards sessions for Aloysius. Oh yes, I will be signing up Bernice and Charlene for The Shichida Method too. Aloysius will be going to school starting in Jan09. I am choosing between Nanyang Kindergarten, Mindchamps or Shichida kindergarten. Most likely is going to be Shichida kindergarten. The major downside is it's only 3 hours a day.

ZY passport photo. Which one?

2008-11-27T13:02:00.004+08:00

some photos...

2008-10-13T16:43:00.005+08:00

Celebration!

2008-09-12T02:27:00.003+08:00

Before I go, Aloysius is toilet trained :) I am very happy of that. He's off diapers at night and during nap time too. There will be some misses on and off. We are still working towards 100% no misses :) But we came a long way already...

Ok gotta go... Gonna bring Aloysius to the potty now...

Series of photos taken today!

2008-09-12T02:01:00.010+08:00

There are very few moments when my active Aloysius will ly down beside his sisters. This morning, my ABC were awake and happily lying down on the mattress on the floor. I have been waiting for this till today. Left is Charlene, middle is Bernice, and right is Aloysius.

I started snapping the pictures just to capture the moments. So all were not smiling...

Then, I asked Aloysius to give me a smile. This is his big and wide smile... Forgot to ask Bernice and Charlene to smile though...

While uploading the photos, I uploaded the wrong file and I cannot delete away. Left is Bernice. Right is Charlene.

After a while, Aloysius got bored...

Aloysius wanted to go and play already...

I suddenly found a way to make both Charlene and Bernice chuckle... I sang "X Y Z" with the music playing in the background. But Aloysius' mind is far far away already...

And Aloysius has gone to play with his puzzle already. Bernice and Charlene continued to chuckle for a while :) They are very happy kids, indeed :) Thank God for them :)

Buzz....

2008-08-28T11:41:00.001+08:00

Hi Blogger!

I have been very busy to update here. Hope you have been keeping well. What have I been up to? You must be wondering… Things are getting better now...

Well, first of all, my ABC and my business are keeping me very busy. Sometimes, I do not even have time just to press the “ON” button on my laptop. The time for going to the toilet to do my business, be it small or big, I gotta cherish the time. Hahaha… I will bring my phone to the toilet to sms or make phone calls :P Sometimes, within the short time in the toilet, I will close a deal :) Good, rite? It’s certainly super good for me. With money coming in, and being able to spend time with my ABC, it’s certainly the best for me now.

Lately, Bernice and Charlene are sleeping less. They will be awake most of the time during the day time. It could be time for another maid. Or some help from somewhere. I can see my clothes piling up, washed but not ironed. Hmm… handling two maids in a home need some management skill ya? That’s what I heard from my friends with two to three maids. Sometimes they will have argument, you know.

I made my maid cry… It was her birthday yesterday. We brought her out for a nice dinner. Then after dinner, we bought her a fruit cake from Crystal Jade. And then we gave her a $10 phonecard for her to call home. She was touched when we sang her a birthday song too :). Aloysius enjoyed putting the candle on the cake, cutting and sampling the cake.

Ok back to my kids. Apart from being busy with business, I am also busy with ABC. Flashcards sessions and other stimulation activities never stop :) Or rather, these sessions cannot stop. I am very wary of that.

At five months, Bernice and Charlene are crawling (I am using crawling and creeping according to Glen Doman’s definition.) with their heads buried in the mattress. Hahaha… At 4.5 months, Bernice was 6.8kg and Charlene was 7.8kg. They are still on total breastfeeding. I will bring them out almost wherever I go. When I go for business meetings and seminars, they will be with me too :) Of course, with the help of my maid. Who knows, maybe next time, they will also be a world class speaker. They have been listening to world class speakers since they were in my tummy :) Good eh?

…Charlene can crawl backwards now too. The only thing I am worried is Charlene will start to creep before crawling. She’s strong enough to lift herself up high with her hands and legs now, though separately – both legs or both hands. She can get up holding on to my fingers from sleeping position to standing and to hanging in the air for 5 seconds. Charlene can flip in both directions now.

…Bernice is an expert in grabbing things in front of her and put straight into her mouth. It’s a milestone reached. She can get up holding on to my fingers from sleeping position to standing and to hanging in the air for 10 seconds now. Both Bernice and Charlene love hanging in the air. They will chuckle while hanging. It’s quite amusing. Bernice is very agile. She’s crawling everywhere on my bed when sleeping. The first time she landed on the cold hard marble floor from the mattress on the floor, she knocked her face on the floor. But now, she learnt that it will hurt when she does that.

…Aloysius is almost toilet trained. He can hold his bladder longer now. I gotta bring him to the toilet to urine every half an hour to an hour. He will do his big business on the toilet bowl most of the time. He’s into the “no. no, no” stage. What I do now is to give him alternatives. Some people call it “alternate closing”. Hahaha… I learnt this from the seminars that I attended. For example, when he does not want to eat, I will ask him “Do you want mommy to feed or aunty to feed?” Usually, he will want mommy to feed and he will eat. It’s useless to ask “Do you want to eat?” Do you see the difference? Another example, when going to the toilet, I will ask “Do you want mommy or aunty to bring you to the toilet?” No matter which answer he gives, he will have to go to the toilet. Sometimes, he’s getting smarter, he refused to answer me. Hahaha… Strategy gotta change soon. For now, I just need to ask a few times and wait for a few seconds and he will answer. Another thing I learnt from seminars :) So far, most of the seminars that I have attended, the speakers are parents themselves :)

Oh yes… let me tell you about mosquitoes bites…

As some of you know, we have been going to JB very often. Twice, Aloysius had very big and many mosquitoes bites. I think his skin is not very good, hence a big reaction to mosquitoes bites. He will get very big, swollen and red bump. There’s once when he got 3 big bumps on his neck. “Love bites” from mosquitoes ya? Hahaha… It was so obvious that everyone asked me what happen to his neck. It looks like some red growth or tumor. Then, I just tried using my bar. My bar is skin health product, hence logically should be able to help in repairing that mosquitoes bites area. Hee… I am an engineer, a very logical person. After one use, Aloysius stopped scratching and it’s not so red and obvious anymore. Thank goodness, else there will be ugly scars due to the scratching. Imagine 3 big scars on the neck. Ugly rite? On top of that, discomfort for him due to the itchiness. Then I continued to apply my bar on him 3 times in a day for the first day. Lazy mommy here subsequently applied it on him during his shower once a day. By the 3^rd day, the bumps are completely gone! Amazing, isn’t it? I should have taken a photo of the bites to prove. But “kan cheong” mommy me forgotten about that when I see him with so many mosquitoes bites and kept scratching. Taking a photo of that was the last thing in my mind. Hee… Maybe next time, if he still gets mosquitoes bites, I will try to remember to capture a picture to show ya?

Oh yes… Apart from mosquitoes bites… My bar also helped one of my business partners in his eczema. He got really bad eczema, one of the worse that I have seen so far. Plus it’s on the face with 2 big, red bumps! It’s that kind of wet type, not dry type of eczema. He trusted me and started using the bar. He’s in search for a miracle for his eczema condition. He’s an insurance agent and he needs a bit of good looks to meet his clients. He used the bar for his whole body. During the first week of using the bar, the 2 big bumps on his face started to have some liquid oozing out. My sis convinced him to continue to use the bar. He used it religiously. After the liquid oozing episode, the redness was gone! Now, after using for more than 2 weeks, the bumps started to subside! Wow! He was in awe… He had this problem for years. And within 2 weeks, the eczema condition started to improve leaps and bounds. Or rather, the eczema condition improved leaps and bounds already just within 2 weeks! He’s now a walking testimonial and he no need to sell the bars. The bar sells on it’s own. And he’s attracting lots of business people into distributing and retailing this miracle bar. He calls it a miracle bar. After the ooze ooze… the bump got smaller and now smooth skin. Good, ain’t it? I am totally sold by him than me selling to him too! And his face got lifted too. He’s into 50. He’s looking better and younger by the weeks.

Ok gotta go… Hoping to go to the zoo today when the rain stops…

I lost my temper again :(

2008-08-04T13:07:00.003+08:00

This afternoon, I lost my temper at Aloysius again. I felt like just run away from home for a moment :( But I cannot. Felt so stuck - physically and mentally. How? I had no patience to feed him his lunch. He kept turning his head here and there, and I am so tired of chasing after him to feed him. After he finally finished his lunch, asked the maid to bring him to urine in the toilet. And he cried and cried and cried. Haiz... Everything is "mama mama mama..." Then he urine on my bed :( I asked him to "get down the bed" and "go away". I was very wary of using the word "go away". I cannot tolerate anymore, and I really want him to be out of my sight before I throw my temper on him, so I used the words.

I am aware of the cries of Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene, and felt so guilty. I should not let them cry too much and throw temper when they want or do not want something. From birth to 3 years old is the important period for development of their character. Some people say it's a "habit". How? Bernice and Charlene have been crying very badly for milk. Think they are having a growth spurt too. Last few nites, they cried louder. They used to just move or make some noise, and I will feed them. No cries in the dark at all. For the past few nites, things had changed. I had to keep waking up too. Alternate feed non-stop for a couple of nites already! More frequently, they want milk at the same time.

I am so exhausted now. I just popped 4 Indinine and going to pop more Vplus for more energy. Think I will skip lunch today. Indinine and Vplus for lunch...

Ok... the more negative I am, the worse it will get. Crying will not solve the problem rite? But it can release some of my mental stress. It's a mental torture of the things I will do when I get angry and knowing that I should not. Ok... What about something positive?

Since my venting here last week, Aloysius can be off diapers for his nap. NO more bed wetting for nap. After last week's episode, I apologised and talked to Aloysius. I followed Shichida's recommendation on discipline. He forgave me.

Oh.. I suddenly felt like going to the temple for some peace. Probably will go to the temple later before meeting Nicholas tonite. I really look forward to meeting him tonite. I am a bit lost on how to cope with business and family effectively. I do not agree with putting my children with the maid or care giver overnight. The kind of bonding during their growing up years is very important and will be gone forever if I do not cherish it now. Nicholas really can balance his family and business. I wanna learn from him. He's very successful, I would say.

Ok back to the positive things...

Aloysius will now poo poo in the toilet. Wiping of puddles of urine is less frequent now. He can wake up with a dry diaper in the morning too. At nite, I gotta wake up at about 3am to bring him to the toilet to urine. He responds to "sssshhhhhhhh...." During his afternoon nap, I gotta bring him to the toilet to urine every 1 hour 15 minutes.
Aloysius is now an expert in piecing up puzzles and he loves it. He's getting more interested in art and craft during his Julia Gabriel class too.
Aloysius can count from one to thirty in English already. The next target is one to forty.
Aloysius has very good memory. He's interested in reading books too. Every night, and every morning, he will want me to read at least 2 books to him. I am quite tempted to buy the Eric Carle books that he likes - "Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear?" and "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?"
Bernice will urine in the potty. She will also poo poo in the potty. That's a very good start for potty training.
Bernice can flip left and right. She can crawl quite a distance.
Bernice has a very good concentration span too. She will stare at the checker board for quite a while when she wakes up.
Charlene can flip left and right too. And she can also crawl quite a distance.
Charlene loves flashcards. She will stare at the cards for 15 minutes. I mean many cards for 15 minutes. If just one card, perhaps a few seconds.
Charlene love to read too. I read to her and she will be very attentive.

It's so much fun to play with all my ABC. I am feeling so much better now. Thanks to Indinine and Vplus. I think it will be even better with nMA and chloreana, I heard. They are the enhanced version with astaxanthin added, and more potent. Will take nMA and Chloreana after my Indinine and Vplus finish :)

I NEED A BREAK!

2008-07-30T11:51:00.003+08:00

I seriously need a break from all the 3 kids! I wonder when I can have a good break :( Aloysius is driving me crazy today. I cannot stand it already. I just feel like locking myself in the room all by myself. I dun wanna hear all their voices. Just want some quietness for now.

On one hand, I need a break, on other hand, it’s a waste of time for the kids. I could be doing lots of things for them. I could be reading, fixing puzzles, showing flashcards, playing with them, etc etc. So much to do… I feel like physically banging my head on the walls.

I wonder why Aloysius still will not go to the potty to urine on his own. Am I expecting too much? He will urine in the toilet when I bring him there every 15 minutes in the morning. I am just so tired of it all. He will not say when he needs to urine. Wonder when he will start telling me that he needs the toilet. I only have two hands for everything. Lucky I do not need to mop the floor. But the floor is getting so many patches. I gotta supervise the maid to make sure the floor is clean. All the patches come from all the drips from the wet cloth. Imagine urine everywhere the house and patches everywhere on the floor. I am fed up with it. Ok, I better go and hide myself in the room now.

It's lunch time for Aloysius now. But I don't feel like feeding him now. I need to gain back my sanity. Ya, I know. According to Shichida, I gotta be emotionally stable. How to be when I got so much to do? And no rest? No time for myself? "Working" 24 hours a day, every single day!

Head over heels today!

2008-07-25T23:27:00.002+08:00

This afternoon, I had a visitor. It’s my sister’s friend. She’s a designer. She asked me one question which made me head over heels today. Hahaha… wanna know what? Dun tell you :P

You really wanna know? I told my hubby the question, and he laughed at me :( sobs…

Ok… I tell you ok? But promise me… Dun laugh at me ya? Hahaha… I am laughing first.

My sister’s friend asked me “Are you an air stewardess? Your skin looks so smooth and radiant.” Hmm… Maybe it’s the results of using my bar! MY BAR! Hahaha… Many people and friends have been telling me that I am looking very radiant. The color of my face is more even now. My sister told me that my freckles are now lighter too. Wow… My bar is so amazing! Not many products out there can remove freckles, you know?

When I was young, I want to be an air-stewardess because I love to travel, but could not, due to my size. I was overweight since kindergarten. And I was “pimple-faced” too. How can I be an air-stewardess, rite?

I was in my home tee and shorts and I haven’t wash my face with my bar for the day. My sister did not pre-inform me that her friend was coming. So I was not with make up, and was not in my best state to meet anyone. Well, I slimmed down a lot after my detox, and my weight maintained. Some people thought that it’s because I got 3 to look after, hence I slimmed down. Hmm… I feel that it’s more of my healthier body. My mum and many others gotta look after 4 kids, but did not maintain their weight and grew. Another thing is I must thank God that I found "my bar", else I might be looking like a “yellow face” woman having to look after and nurture 3 young kids.

Oh yes… I have a friend who has “bloody face” when we were in University days. “Bloody face” becos he had lots of big pimples with oozing pus and blood kind. Can you imagine the oozing pus and blood face? Ok ok.. dun wanna elaborate further on that. I feel like puking already. Let me tell you his story. He changed his diet and took Indinine, Vplus, FibrePlus for a few years. He has no more bleeding and pus oozing face. But, he has one problem. His face is full of “pot holes”. Some people say it’s like a world map. His “world map” is the result of those big and bloody pimples he had. He has been using "my bar" for a few months already. The deep seated holes are surfacing! Wow! How can that be rite? His face is getting smoother by the months, if not by weeks! Isn’t that amazing? He’s looking more and more radiant too.

Before I go off… Let me do a quick update on ABC.

Aloysius can count to thirty now :) He can recite the whole “ren zhi chu san zi jing”. He’s starting to sing now. He can sing “twinkle twinkle little star”, “baa baa black sheep”. Not many songs yet. I finally felt so satisfied that he will sit beside me to read a few books when in the library. I am not very sure if he can read on his own. I am hoping that he can read on his own. Two days ago, I was teaching him opposites from a book. It’s one word on one page with illustrations. I just taught him once and he got it. I like Eric Carle’s books titled “Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear?”, “Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?”, “Panda bear, panda bear, what do you see?”. Aloysius also likes these books. He will want me to read them repeatedly and say out loud with me. I borrowed these books and these books will be his bed time, and wake up time story books.

Bernice is sleeping less during the day now. Whenever we go out, she will be wide awake and looking around her surrounding. Last nite, I brought her with me to a business seminar. She was like replying and talking to the speaker. Hahaha… Luckily, the speaker did not mind her “talkativeness”. She can sleep on her own when she’s tired. Just put her down on the bed and she will fall asleep herself. Bernice loves the song “open and shut” at Julia Gabriel. She will give a wide smile when I sing this song to her. Today, I let Bernice crawled onto the marble floor. I guess she must have felt that the floor is cold and hard. I also put her in the car seat beside Aloysius when it’s flashcards time. She might not be a visual person. She will only look at the cards for a while, but will continue to sit there and listen. Hahaha… save me some time and effort in arranging separate sets of flashcards.

Charlene is also sleeping less during the day now. She will also be wide awake to look around when we go out. She’s very focused and has good concentration span for her age. Sometimes, when I put her on the bed, she will be lifting up her head and staring at the checker board. The board has some colorful stickers on them. She’s into flashcards now. She can last 15 minutes or more of flashcards session with Aloysius. She seems to love the stories from speed reading. Her eyes will light up. I also brought Charlene to a business seminar last nite. Well, in fact, my Bernice and Charlene will be at the weekly and monthly business seminars that I go. I will bring them there. Last nite, Charlene, after being fed, was also very happy and “replying” to the speaker. When the speaker talked about money, she got so excited and started kicking and “talking”!

Ok… Gotta go… Charlene will be waking for milk soon. She’s having a growth spurt, having to drink milk every 1-2 hours.

Tiring Day...

2008-07-22T23:26:00.000+08:00

Today was a rather tiring day. We went out for almost the whole day. We went for lunch with a friend, then some shopping at Takashimaya, then class at Julia Gabriel. In the morning, usually gotta rush to get ABC showered and fed. If near to lunch time, gotta feed Aloysius lunch before we can go out. Cos he will fall asleep by latest 1pm. I still gotta prepare his lunch and start cooking earlier. And also the flashcards.

This morning, Aloysius was very funny. Dunno to laugh or to be angry. Hahaha… After his shower, he decided to play with water in the bath-tub. And he started to pour water on the floor. I like my bathroom to be dry. I told him “The floor is wet.” After he’s done with and bored with playing with the water and toys, I got him out and dressed him. Then I told him again “The floor is wet.” He repeated after me “Floor wet.” And ran out of the room. He went to the yard to get a broom and came back with the broom and said “sweep floor.” Hahaha… Then I told him, “If you sweep the floor like this, it’s going to be wet.” Guess what he said next… He said “Floor wet, mama very angry.” Wahahaha… It was so cute. Then I laughed, and he said “mama not angry.” Hahaha…

This afternoon, when I was shopping for shoes, Aloysius started to enjoy pushing the boxes of shoes and counting. I grabbed him and asked him to look at me. I took quite a while for him to look at me. He knew I was angry. Finally when he looked at my eyes, I told him

“Mama wants you to be a good boy. Mama don’t like what you did. Stop pushing all the boxes and behave. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mama.”

“Mama wants you to sit on the stroller now and remain seated. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mama.”

Then I put him on the stroller and he sat there till I paid and left :). Hmm.. easy “discipline” eh? I only did part of what Shichida said in his book about disciplining. Hahaha… I gotta revise and practice again. Discipline cannot be more than 2 minutes. When disciplining, I must have his attention and tell him that I love him, hence got angry with him. Then explain why I am angry. Then tell him how he should behave. Then at the end of it, gotta give him an 8 seconds hug. I have forgotten the hug… :P When I got time, I will write here or translate about discipline from the book, ya? :) I think it’s pretty effective. No need to spank nor scream nor tolerate bad behaviour. I can remember different “phases” of discipline are illustrated in the book, and how many seconds for each “phase”.

Okie dokie, I gotta go to bed already. Another outing day tomorrow. We are going to Botanical Gardens for a picnic!

Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles.

2008-07-10T15:23:00.000+08:00

Aloysius is on his way to fixing a 28 pieces puzzle on his own :). He loves puzzles now. He will play with two sets of his puzzles everyday. One is the alphabet puzzle train which was from Jezoir last Christmas. And the other one is an animal farm puzzle. These are the only puzzles that he has now. He can recognize all the alphabets now. Perhaps it’s due to the weekly pointing and singing of ABC song during Shichida class starting from 6 months old for a year. He’s slowly able to fix the ABC puzzle on his own in sequence. Initially, I gotta guide him which letter is next. Now, he can do it on his own till letter G. Sometimes, I will only tell him the sound, and he will find the letter. He knows phonics too. He loves to listen to his one and only one phonics songs CD when traveling in the car. I am glad that he has the concentration to finish fixing the puzzles.

First train ride on KTM train.

2008-07-07T14:20:00.009+08:00

We brought ABC for their very first train ride on the KTM train to Segamat on Saturday. It was a fun and enjoyable day. The train was late for an hour and it finally arrived at 9.30am. Aloysius was scared. He sat on the chair and clung on to the chair tightly when the train arrived. Perhaps he's afraid of the loud engine sound. My hubby carried him on the train. On the train, he wanted me to carry and hug him. I carried him all the way till Segamat. He had a nap during the journey too.

My BIL's brother drove to the station to pick us up to fetch us to Tangkak. We had lots of delicious durian! Aloysius refused to eat durian. He will run away when you ask him if he wants durian. hahaha... He's really my "ang mo" child. Speak Mandarin with "ang mo" accent, and now, cannot stand the taste of durian. How to make him more Asian? I gave him a small piece of durian and he played with it with water.

After the durian feast, we went to visit two chicken farms. Aloysius absolutely enjoyed himself at the farm and refused to go home. He enjoyed chasing after the chickens, catching and stroking the chickens very much. We will bring him there again :) This time, he explored the farm with 8 days old chickens. Maybe next time older chickens.

My BIL's relatives are so amazed at Bernice and Charlene :) They were very happy too with so many people to talk to them and keep them company, while mommy and daddy enjoyed durian feast and chased after exploring Aloysius.

I am looking forward to bring them out again somewhere :) Maybe Penang is next, or perhaps Bintan :)

Updated photos of ABC.

2008-07-07T14:06:00.004+08:00

It's me, Charlene! I am learning to crawl and going further by the days. I can flip too. I got the fun of communicating now.

It's me, Bernice! I am a very happy baby. I can chuckle when you make me laugh. I am learning communication and can "talk" with you when you talk to me.

It's me, Aloysius! I am learning how to speak in proper sentences now. Mommy is trying to get me to speak more in Mandarin lately. I can imitate in whatever language now. I am a language genius! I am so happy everyday. I love to explore and play. I do not need toys though cos I am a creative imitator. hahaha...

Early Riser.

2008-07-04T04:24:00.000+08:00

I am waking up at 3am again. Why? I dunno. I just cannot fall asleep. I have a lot of things in my mind. One of them is money management. Hahaha… “My part-time business is managing and investing my money and creating passive income streams.” This is one of the verses in “Attitude of Wealth” from T.Harv Eker. I got this “Attitude of Wealth” verses stuck on my wardrobe. I will read them on and off.

I am wondering if it’s due to the coffee that I drank yesterday afternoon. That’s my very first cup of coffee after years, ever since my detox before I got pregnant with Aloysius! I am still fully breastfeeding though. Some how, I am craving for coffee lately. Why? I dunno. Maybe stress. Maybe my body is acidic. Yesterday, my maid fell sick. She had a headache when she woke up in the morning. So I asked her to drink lots of water and have some rest. I settled my ABC on my own. And guess what… I almost forgot to shower Aloysius in the morning! Hahaha… I showered him just before we went out for his Julia Gabriel playclub class. Luckily, after resting for the morning, she’s fine already. Thank God for that. Else I dunno how to bring Aloysius for class.

It has been some time ago that I write about Aloysius’ diet.

He’s now 2 years old already. I have successfully 100% keep him out of food with sugar and salt for 2 years! That’s a challenge in a family of chefs. I had constant nagging and reasoning why we need salt and sugar. You will be surprised at the reasons the older generations can come up with. Even deep fried food is also needed by our body cos we need the oil, while it’s widely promoted by the health promotion board throughout the world that deep fried food are no good for health. What a contradiction!

Well, when I talk about “sugar”, I am referring to refined sugar. Do you know that sugar is not supposed to be white? How come it’s white? I also kept him off from the “hidden sugar” in food like bread, cakes, etc. I believe in getting the “sugar” we need from fruits. There’s lots of it. Aloysius loves fruits a lot. Nowadays, he loves dragonfruit and kiwi.

A very strong belief that my mum has about salt is “no salt, so tasteless, how to eat?” Well, for us adults who has been eating lots of food that are laden with salt and sugar, of course, we cannot swallow plain food. Tastebuds are cultivated, but my mum just does not understand this. Hmm… I am worried when she’s the chef behind Aloysius food. I told her strictly no salt and strictly no sugar at all. Sometimes, she will tell me “a little bit”. Well, her “little bit” can be a lot, and it’s not measured in grams. I am a researcher, you see. Everything gotta be quantified for a fair comparison. But she does not understand too. You know, I have been drinking soup without adding any salt and sugar. When my mum boils soup, it’s very tasty. She told me only “a little bit” of salt. Sometimes it gets a bit salty, even to my taste. It could be too salty for Aloysius. Most and utmost importantly, there’s no MSG. She used to put Knorr chicken stock into the food to make it more “delicious”. And chicken stock has “no MSG”, according to her. Duh… Well, my aunt also says that those commercial powdered chicken stock does not have MSG, cos without it, the food does not taste good. She gotta accept my disagreement ultimately and listen to me, but with some nagging and reasoning here and there.

I make sure my kitchen has sea salt and unrefined sugar only. For me, I will use sea salt on my vegetables. For my soup, there will be no salt added too. I will put in lots of ingredients to make it tasty. But it’s still tasteless to my sisters and parents. Aloysius is also into eating what I eat too. Hence I gotta use the more healthy seasoning. Sometimes, I use miso paste. When I buy miso paste, I will read the labels to make sure there’s no benito and other preservatives.

Aloysius tasted the first piece of cake at his friend’s, Damien’s, birthday party. It’s a week before he turns two. He was eyeing on the cake and kept wanting the cake. But after giving him one small slice, after he had finished it, he did not want more. Hmm… Probably it’s because the cake is sweet and he’s not used to sweet food. Good rite? That’s what I want to cultivate. A few of my friends who are strict with their children’s diet also feedback that their children, will take sweets, but only a little and will not finish them. Aloysius had his birthday cake too. On his birthday, when I was busy, Aloysius was fed with his own cake when he already had enough. He was chased around to be fed the cake. Haiz… You see… When you tell the old folks that he can eat a little… A little can be a lot… and they make sure he eats. I am tempted to say “no” cake at all. Then, I will continue to have nagging and reasonings.

Having blog all these, I am very thankful that my kids have very concern grandparents, and I am thankful for their unconditional love they showered on Aloysius, Bernice and Charlene. And also their willingness and eagerness to help in looking after them. It’s really a joy to see them growing up happy and being loved by so many people :)

Aloysius will eat my vegetables too. He loves broccoli and cauliflower now. His lunch will either be noodles or rice, plus soup and some of my vegetables. His soup will not have added salt and sugar, but with lots of ingredients – minimum 5 types of vegetables. I found noodles without salt finally. His dinner will be rice, soup and vegetables. Sometimes, he will have cod fish for dinner. Perhaps once or twice a month. Hahaha… plus lots of Vplus to get rid of the heavy metals from his body, if there’s any.

Oh yes, do you know the power of the radio and television? Recently, there are talks and shows about diet for babies and toddlers and children. My parents seem to agree with whatever information listened from the radio and shown on TV! They will tell me some of the things that I have been doing and they had disagreed on. I just wonder why they do not believe me. I am a researcher and I do my research, be sure before I execute.

Even for the flashcards, I had lots of disagreement when I started with Aloysius. After the TV shows showing the abilities of young kids through learning from flashcards, my sisters and parents keep asking if I do flashcards for Bernice and Charlene. I still do flashcards for Aloysius and he loves them. When I told him “it’s flashcards time”, he will arrange my chair in front of the sofa for me, and he will sit on the sofa and wait for me to get the cards. He will always ask for “more cards, more cards”. When I am done with two packs of cards, I will tell him “tomorrow morning”. Nowadays, I just need to say “no more cards”, and he will continue with “tomorrow morning”. Hahaha… Cute rite? There are lots of other outputs from him. I am not supposed to “test” him, but at least I know my efforts are not wasted. He knows parts of the body and can count 1-10 in Malay. He can certainly count 1-20 in English and Mandarin. I am trying to get him to count till 30 by the end of the month. I think it’s already an accomplishment for a 2 year old. He knows many verses of “san zi jing”. The limitation is on mommy who needs to catch up. I need the book to read! He knows “cheng yu”. I just tell him the first 3 words and he will complete the last word for me. He knows “species of butterflies”. A few days ago, when I was surfing the web for species of butterflies to find out how to create flashcards on the life cycle of butterflies, he pointed to me “peacock”. Yes, that particular species of butterfly is called “peacock”. I wonder if he knows Japanese, French, German too. He said a few words here and there when he was listening to the foreign languages songs. It’s mommy here who do not understand these languages. Oops… I better stop here. Next time, when you see Aloysius, do not test him and praise him too much ok? Not suppose to do that… This is the road to arrogance, according to Prof. Shichida. I only want him to have the abilities to be a leader in future, and he has the abilities to pick up things very fast. I am exposing him to many languages now even though I do not speak them. The aim is to give him a headstart in these languages, and be able to pick up the languages he needs in future in whatever he does. I think this will be an invaluable gift we are giving him. These, must thank my hubby for the financial investment in the classes and materials. Oh yes, Aloysius’ classmate at Shichida class can spell! She’s 4 months older than Aloysius and she can spell already. Give her a word with the letters jumbled up, and she can tell you the word. Wow! Super smart, indeed! The mother, a teacher, also used flashcards to teach spelling. The mother will spend 2 hours daily to teach her since she was a baby.

Let’s talk about Aloysius’ social skills development. His teacher at Julia Gabriel, Rueben, commented that he has improved leaps this term. He’s now more aware of his surroundings. He’s no longer engrossed in his own world. 2 days ago, when we were at the polyclinic, he saw another toddler. He went to her, danced and sang in front of her, trying to make her laugh. Hahaha… It was pretty funny cos it’s the first time he’s aware of other kids around him.

Another thing to share before I go off to bed again, 2 years old is the memory genius phase. To nurture superb memory, gotta be NOW, according to Prof. Shichida. It’s making me quite “kan cheong” cos Aloysius does not like linking memory game. Part of the reason is mommy does not like it too, and did not spend much time in looking for memory materials. Gotta buck up in that…

Wah… So much about Aloysius already. Just a little about Bernice and Charlene. Charlene can crawl out of the mattress already. Yesterday, she crawled out of the mattress and her face touched the cold, hard floor. When she sleeps, she’s rotating 360 degree. Bernice is getting there too. Bernice and Charlene are 6.2kg and 7.15kg respectively, as of 9 July 2008 (3.5 months old). They are fully breastfed for 3.5 months already. Time flies…

Inspired?

2008-07-02T15:51:00.002+08:00

I was looking for more information on Astaxanthin while my ABC are asleep :) I am evaluating a new product that will be released out in mid-July08. It is more advanced than Indinine called MMA. The only difference from Indinine is the addition of Astaxanthin, which apparently will make MMA more potent.

Anyway, I wanna write that I came across this article: http://brainloops.blogspot.com/2008/05/business-and-sales-by-15-year-old.html

The ending is “Business and sales is the top reason of people becoming hella rich. lol!” hmm… I kinda agree with it. From my personal experience, when I do more sales, I get more money. Recently, my hubby was amazed at how much $$$ I can contribute to my dad’s heart bypass surgery. He asked me how come I have so much to contribute and still have $$$ in my bank account. Hahaha… Well, I dun have “private money” hor… My sis labeled me having a “chai diam ma” in Hokkien, something like having a seven eleven at home. Hahaha…

Imagine if I am an employee. If I get more sales, I might get more in commission if I am lucky. Why not sell for yourself? A lot of people do not like to sell, they do not like sales. Where can the money come from if one does not wanna do sales? Good sales people are RICH! Sales and marketing is very important according to T.Harv Eker too. The Guerilla business intensive is all about coming out with a superb marketing plan! That’s where the money is :)

Hey, if you are interested in business, I am supplying a new, fantastic, revolutionary product - Eumora. Other backend products coming very soon. We can be partners. You can start small. Well, most businesses start from small, ain’t it? If you have the volume, you can even be a supplier or distributor. I am more interested in business to business :) This is a lucrative business in wellness and beauty! Email to me if you are interested.

LinnaUng at gmail dot com.

You have a Millionaire Business Mind!

2008-06-30T12:50:00.000+08:00

I just attended the “Guerilla Business Intensive” by T. Harv Eker for 5 full days! It was an amazing and useful 5 days. The seminar is indeed intensive. After the seminar, I walked out with a full business plan for me to execute in real life.

I started with 3 businesses in mind before the seminar. Well, it’s best to have a business before the seminar in order to benefit the most. The 3 businesses are distributing curry puffs in Singapore, selling flashcards and training parents how to use them effectively, and distributing Eumora bar. On the first day, I started with planning for the 3 businesses. Then on the second day, I had 2 businesses to choose. Hahaha… T.Harv Eker said that rich people focus. If I were to have 3 businesses, I will remain broke. On the 3^rd day, I chose to do the flashcards and education business. On the 4^th day, after the seminar at 11pm, I went to look for Arthur, Esabee field leader and a multi-multi-multi-multi-multi-multi-multi------ Millionaire. We had a chat till about 3am. On the last day of the seminar, I decided that I am going to distribute Eumora bar. One of the secret to earning lots of money is to have an excellent product, be an affiliate or agents, and learn from people who are successful. Hence, I have decided to distribute Eumora bar. I will do both retail and distribution. I want to retail this revolutionary bar on the internet. Arthur adviced not to. Hmm…

Thank you for reading this. If you are looking for some products to distribute or retail, let me know. I have a win-win marketing plan for you. Eumora bars are selling out at lightning speed now because results can be seen in 3 minutes. Unbelievably, the effects of the bar continue even after the first wash. It’s just like bringing Spa treatment to the comfort of your own home. How good is that?

At the seminar, we learnt about copywriting. I am no good in my languages since young, and find myself like a disabled in language. I told myself I cannot let this happen to my children. I must give them lots of opportunity in building their language skills. I find, in business, language is very important. Nicholas Chia told me before that language is one of the 3 best gifts for our children.

During the seminar, Aloysius was being looked after by my parents in JB. He was very happy there. He went swimming, played with sand in the playground, sat on the swing, went to the factory, etc. Lots of things for him to experience, explore and learn. I am glad he had a chance to see my parents do business.

This morning, when I called my mum, she told me about Aloysius’ peeling eggs. At the factory, when he saw my mum helping to peel the eggs, he also wanted. So my mum gave him an egg to peel. My mum knocked the egg shells before peeling. Aloysius, probably been eyeing on eating the egg, took the egg and went outside to knock the egg on a glass door, and peeled the egg. After peeling the egg, he had a bite. He knew if he peeled the egg at the table, he will not be allowed to eat the egg. Then my mum changed another egg for him. He did the same thing. And he could peel the egg very fast. He’s a smart boy, isn’t it?

Bernice and Charlene were taken care of by the maid. They are 3 months 4 days today. I left them at my cousin’s place for the first two days. Then my mother in law came to help for the rest of the 3 days. Bernice now has preference for milk. She refused to drink FrisoSoy now. She only wants breast milk.

Bernice can communicate and chuckle already. It is so fun to play with her now. She likes people to talk to her, and she will smile. Just now, she chuckles when I was playing with her. She’s such a happy girl.

Charlene can communicate and smile too, but not as loud as Bernice. Whenever you talk to her, she will give a big and wide smile. And she’s crawling! It’s such a joy to talk to her and she will response. She’s also a very happy girl.

Self Reflections.

2008-06-23T13:49:00.000+08:00

I have been losing my temper a few times a week at Aloysius :( Part of the reason is cos I am very tired. And I flared up when he did something that I dun like. This morning, I raised my voice at him when he used his leg to splash his urine on the floor. Yesterday, at Shichida class, towards the end of the lession, he refused to do the activities and chose to walk around the class. I felt so exhausted. I gotta find a way to de-stress somewhere. I have been tolerating all the explorations of Aloysius. Sometimes, when I see him playing on his own, I felt so guilty that I do not have "enough" time for him. By the way, how much is enough? Just to make myself feel better, I just read from Shichida's book that kids need to have some time to play on their own, to explore on their own. I just felt that I can teach him more. At least Aloysius can play on his own. He's a very happy boy. He laughs at his own exploration. He laughs when playing with other kids. He laughs looking at his own reflection. He also laughs when I am angry.

Yesterday, when I was exhausted after his class, he walked to the MRT, walked down the stairs, boarded the train, stood on the train, alighted the train, all on his own. Along the way to the MRT station, there was a few kids playing and laughing. He joined in for a while. I just stood beside till he's finished. He could balance quite well in the moving train. Then he walked home too! Otherwise, he will want to be carried. He asked me to carry a few times, but I told him, "mama is tired." Then he said, "mama tired", and continued to walk. He's such an understanding boy, isn't he? When we were about to reach home, I carried him in my new Ergo carrier. I explained to him why I was angry, and apologised to him if I had hurt his feelings. Aloysius is forgiving. When I asked him if he will forgive mama, he said, "yes".

Haiz… I need to “cure” my sleepless nights. And also exercise to de-stress. I am thinking of waking up early in the morning to swim before ABC wake. Hmm… still thinking… hahaha… For my sanity and the sake of ABC, I must start to swim. Hope it will help me in de-stressing and in controlling my temper.

I realized that I am very “fierce” and can get violent when I get angry :( Luckily, I do not own a cane at home. Hmm… if I were to blame on something, it gotta be my upbringing by nanny. When I was young, my nanny would tolerate all my “nonsense” and then flared up with a cane and gave me a “fierce” beating. These caning episodes, anger, actions, are deeply etched in my subconscious mind. When I am tired, the kind of anger and reactions will come out from me. I will try my best to control myself. I dun want these violence to transfer to my kids’ subconscious mind. Patience and keep cool…

Potty training:

Aloysius will sit in the little potty to urine on his own now :) The only improvement needed is to teach him how to remove his shorts before sitting on the potty. Hahaha…

Charlene is now interested in the windmill at the window. It shows that she can see quite a distance and colors already :) Bernice seems to be able to see my facial expressions.and she is so smiley. Time for words flashcards. I gotta call Lawrence of GDBaby for a review on Aloysius’ reading skills.

Tired, early mornings...

2008-06-14T06:48:00.000+08:00

Lately, I have not been sleeping well, waking up early in the morning, feeling tired, but not able to fall back asleep. It was rather challenging taking care with ABC during the day when I was tired. I am guilty of losing my temper a few times with Aloysius. When I am tired, he will be crying more. I felt like I really need a break from all the kids, go somewhere quiet and relax, all for myself, alone. Or perhaps I should go for a swim early in the morning everyday for some exercise. Sometimes, I felt like knocking my head on the walls! I will just let Aloysius cries when I cannot take it anymore. I locked myself in the bedroom and let him be in the living room to cry a few times already. I think I needed my sanity more. When I raise my voice, he will do what I tell him to. He still loves to “ransack” the wardrobe which I dreaded, cos I gotta tidy up the things. I have valuables inside the wardrobe, so the maid is not suppose to open the wardrobe. I also dread to see him chewing on candles, pens, pencils, cotton wool, etc.

Ok, I better stop all the complaining… Aloysius is still as wonderful as before. He’s my happy star! He’s still a happy and exploring boy. I should be thankful that he’s still willing to explore.

Regarding his toilet training, he told me that he wanted to “urine” twice when he wants to pass motion. I took him to the toilet and he really poo in the potty :) I am very happy that the toilet training process is getting somewhere. Nowadays, I stopped giving him stickers when he urines in the potty. I tell him that he gotta tell me that he wants to urine and urine in the potty, then I will give him the stickers. Sometimes, he will automatically tell me “poo poo first” or “urine first”. Hahaha… I still gotta bring him to the potty to urine every 10-15 minutes. And he will usually urine in the potty when I bring him there :) Yeah!

Aloysius is speaking more and more now. He’s learning new words everyday. A few days ago, he keep using the word funny. Uncle Bok told me a story about his dad and told me that it’s “funny” and laughed. From there, he picked up “funny”. He will go “funny, hahahaha….”. For the past two days, he has been using the word “cute”. He will say “mama’s cute”, “Zhengyu’s cute”, “Bernice’s cute”, “Charlene’s cute”, “papa’s cute”. Hahaha… He is really so cute, isn’t it?

I have dedicated the top of the TV console to let him put his train and big toys. He knows how to put them back neatly. In fact, Aloysius gave me the idea of dedicating the top of the TV console for his big toys. He started to line up his trains and toys nicely there after playing with them. I read from Prof. Shihcida and Montessori book that we gotta nurture tidiness from young. I bought a Montessori book on how to play from Borders a few weeks ago :). It’s quite an interesting read. Tidiness and discipline will start from the toys storage. It’s also nurturing love for his things. I will need to get more storage space from Ikea to keep his toys properly, instead of dumping all into a big box. Mommy here gotta work harder.

Ok, enough of Aloysius rite? Kekeke…

Bernice and Charlene are developing very fast. I have stopped showing them the solid shapes flashcards for the past 2 weeks. My cards get crushed or misplaced quite frequently. Aloysius just loves flashcards – watching and also playing with them. Another reason could be I am bored of the shapes too :p. I tried to give Bernice and Charlene opportunity on their tummy as much as possible when they are awake. And also opportunity to look at the checker boards. They are doing very well so far. Bernice and Charlene can already flip from tummy to back on their own for probably two weeks already. They are coming to three months now. They also can crawl already. I tried to do the balance activities recommended by Glen Doman as much as I can. I gotta do more on the grasp reflex. I can remember Aloysius has very strong grasp at their age. Bernice and Charlene love it when someone is talking to them. They are starting to coo. Their language development is quite fast.

Yesterday, I spent some time to arrange the dots cards for Bernice and Charlene. I took out the black dots. I tested them on Bernice and she stared at the cards. Her eyes will move left and right when I moved the cards left and right. She can see the black dots cards already :) It’s time to start the dots flashcards.

I am still fully breastfeeding them. I want to breastfeed them till they are one year old. Last nite, Bernice slept through the night. She started sleeping at about 9pm and only woke up for milk at 5.30am. Mommy here got so engorged! Charlene slept at about 11pm and woke up for milk at 5.30am too. Days of being able to sleep through the night is getting nearer now :) Hooray!

Bernice and Charlene have very different temper. Bernice is more expressive. She dislikes people to touch her or disturb her when she’s sleeping. When she’s tired, she dislikes people to change her position or move her when she’s trying to fall asleep. Charlene is anyway also can. When hungry, Bernice will cry very loudly after a short warning. Charlene is more patient. I am starting to be able to listen to their cries and tell who is crying.

I revised the little brain booklet by Jocelyn Khoo. It’s recommended to start toilet training at 3 months. I am starting to do that :). I read from the potty book that I have that toilet training gotta start from infant stage. And they will be toilet trained by 1 year old birthday. Fingers crossed…

Aloysius is TWO!

2008-06-10T05:47:00.001+08:00

Aloysius’ birthday was on 6 June. He’s two now. We had a small party with toddlers around his age on 7 June. Though it was a last minute preparation, all the toddlers had lots of fun. As mommy here does not believe in sweets and titbits, the goodie bag contains a remote control car, a small box of sunmaid raisins, and 3 pieces of homemade pooh bear shaped maple oatmeal cookies :) I baked the cookies till 2am the previous night. There’s lots of rolled oats in the cookie, so it’s nutritious and high in fibre. The sweetness comes from fructose and maple syrup. I read from Prof. Shichida’s book to bake cookies, bread, biscuits, etc. with fructose to let our toddlers enjoy, instead of buying them off the shelves.

My success!

2008-05-27T13:45:00.000+08:00

I started to bring Aloysius to the toilet to urine more often, even though he said “no”. It’s every 15 minutes. I will just carry him and put him on the potty. He will urine in the potty now :) Not voluntarily yet. But at least, it’s some improvement. After he urines, he will ask for a sticker. Hahaha… This morning, we missed two times. He urines every 10 minutes after his oatmeal. I have a “budget” for his diaper usage now. Hahaha… Two pieces a day. Soon, the “budget” will be one piece a day. And hopefully, it will be zero diaper a day soon :) I am looking forward to Aloysius being diaperless.

My dad was discharged from the hospital last Sunday. He was eagerly waiting to be discharged. Hahaha… It’s boring in the hospital. In total, he stayed for 6 nites, including 2 nites in the CCU, and 1 nite before the surgery. We paid for the package of 8 nites though. His recovery is pretty fast, isn’t it? He takes two Indinine a day after the surgery. Well, he can take more, but he refused cos he 不舍得. I have “budgeted” two boxes for him.

Bernice and Charlene are two months old today. They are growing very well. Bernice caught the flu bug last week. The virus was probably from someone either in the hospital or at Julia Gabriel. She was sneezing and coughing for 2 days and through the nite. I fed her Indinine 3 times a day. Luckily, it only lasted for 2 days. Prof. Shichida mentions that babies below 1 year old should not fall sick, cos it will affect their development emotionally. I carried Bernice as much as she wanted, but she slept most of the times, only waking up for milk. Phew…

Last Sunday, I went for the Shichida lesson with Aloysius. He was a very good boy. He’s now an expert in the 4 pieces puzzles. During the birds flashcards on the screen, he clung on to me, but still looked at them. I think he’s scared of some of the birds. I haven’t figure out which one. Mommy here gotta work harder on the linking memory.

Okie dokie… Gotta go out soon. Later gonna bring them to the national library. It’s school holidays for Aloysius. I will make it a point to bring him out somewhere every Tues and Thurs. Yesterday, he got nothing much to do at home. He “ransacked” my room till I got angry, “ransacked” the common bathroom and spilled my sis SKII miracle water, “ransacked” the kitchen, etc.

2008-05-21T13:26:00.000+08:00

Now taking a breather since my ABC are asleep. I will be going to hospital again in the afternoon after feeding Aloysius. For the past two days, we have been out the whole day. It was very tiring. Lucky my MIL could take leave to help me with the gals and the maid at home. Else I gotta bring all of them to the hospital.

I was very worried for my dad the day before. I gave him a big, big hug before I left the hospital the night before the surgery. The emotional me cried a little. When Aloysius saw my tears, he looked at me and called “mama”. I think he knew I was sad, and he’s trying to comfort me. His surgery was scheduled at 8am, and it’s impossible for me to reach the hospital before that.

The surgeon told us that my dad’s condition was stable after the surgery. Then, we waited eagerly to see him. It took quite a while before he was wheeled to the CCU from the operating theatre. I saw dad first with all the pipes while the nurses and doctor were setting up the equipment. I saw him with lots of pipes all over. I felt the pain and cried a little :p After that peep, I dare not see anymore. I met his surgeon again at the corridor after lunch. The surgeon told me to go home and rest, and my dad was mildly sedated. Dad looked much better after the pipe to the lungs was taken out at about 4pm. He could speak a little softly. My dad is recovering pretty fast according to the nurse. Some people will still have the pipe to the lungs. Maybe the Indinine he took did help? I persuaded him to take 10 Indinine before the surgery. I told him that I rather spend "small money" than "big money" for complications. Initially, I wanted him to take 20 Indinine.

Patients in the CCU look scary to me with all the big, big pipes and wiring everywhere the body. Gosh... I will be going to visit dad again later this afternoon after Aloysius wakes up from his nap and finishes his lunch.

2008-05-18T22:22:00.001+08:00

I missed my hubby very much :( Sobs… He’s now in Thailand for reservist. It’s 9 more days before he comes back. So far, we are coping well. We are lucky to have chosen a good maid. She learns things very fast and met up to my expectations. At least, I have someone to clean the home and do the laundry. And also help me to carry Bernice and Charlene at times. She will bath them in the morning too. That leaves me more time with Aloysius. I sit down with him to flip his books, and play with puzzles with him. I finally have some time to make some new flashcards :). The maid will cook for us too. I am not fussy about food though. As long as I can still swallow, it’s fine for me. I just showed her once or twice. Now, I just take out the vegetables that I want to eat and she will cook for me. As for communication, I am giving her time to learn. So far, I am happy cos we can still communicate what I want her to do. I am just worried that she will go crazy if she cannot communicate in the long run. On and off, I will ask her if everything is ok. I am glad that she will tell me that she dunno if she dunno what I was telling her.

Today, I brought Aloysius for his Shichida class. It was much better. We arrived very early :). I had a chat with teacher Jane. I realized that one of his classmate actually just started attending SM. I am not sure about the other 2 classmates. I suspect they are new to SM too. It’s no wonder they are not very settled and can be quite distracting. Nevertheless, Aloysius was a very good boy today. He was settled and can do the activities for the first one hour. It was much better compared to the last lesson. At least, there’s no more distraction from the titbits munching and toys that can make sound.

Last Friday, I took the courage to bring my ABC out together with the maid. It went pretty well though. Phew… We went to Changi Beach Club for sand play, swimming, lunch and chill out. Aloysius enjoyed himself very much. We went with 4 other toddlers around Aloysius’ age and their mommies. He was very happy. I was surprised that he’s very willing to play on the sand and with the sand. He enjoyed building sandcastle too. Probably he has been reading about sandcastle in his book lately. While we were having our delicious and sumptuous lunch, the toddlers enjoyed themselves very much, running around in the restaurant. We reached home at about 7pm. Aloysius fell asleep in the car and continued to sleep till the next morning. He did not eat his dinner. Hmm… Aloysius ate white bread that I don’t allow him to eat :(.

Charlene started to cough after the outing. I woke up at 2am to feed her some Indinine. Her cough got worse in the morning. I had no time to feed her more Indinine cos I was rushing out to accompany my dad to see his cardiac surgeon. While out, I got a call that Charlene was running a temperature. I was worried cos she’s still very young. Luckily it was a false alarm when I got home. But she was coughing quite frequently. My mum fed her more Indinine cos I was busy. She was fed Indinine a few times. Luckily her cough subsided after one day of Indinine :)

I gonna be busy next week. My dad will be admitted at Mt. E for a week for heart bypass. Probably will get Aloysius to ask my dad to take more Indinine before the surgery. I will be having some relatives staying over at my place.

Okie dokie… Gotta go to bed already. Later all…

2008-05-14T18:18:00.000+08:00

Today, I lost my patience towards Aloysius. I am so tired and frustrated. He went diaperless today. I was very upset how come he just wanna urine on the floor. And play with his urine. Worse is putting his books on the urine.

I hid in the room and read the potty training book. I am desperate that he's potty trained. I had started this potty training journey since he was 13 months old. I wondered what had I done not so right. In one of the chapters, I gotta let him know that I am upset when he has accidents. I gotta teach him that urinating and poo-ing in his shorts is dirty. Hmm… it’s the opposite of what I have been doing. Perhaps, I gotta change to this style. I gotta change him immediately after he urines or poo, even though he does not want to get washed and changed. This is to get him used to the feeling of cleanliness and dryness. It sounds logical. What I have been doing was keep “persuading” him or get him interested to go to the bathroom to get washed. It’s rather energy draining for me. On the positive side, I do have some successes with potty training. T. Harv Eker said we need to appreciate and count our successes rite? Ok… Aloysius is interested in stickers. Sometimes when he will sit on the potty for a sticker. And another sticker for doing his “business” there.

I was reading a chapter on potty training from infant stage. I gotta start potty training for my gals already! Gulp! Think I gotta get mysellf mentally prepared for the mess. It was suggested to let them go diaperless too. And identify the cries or cues from the infant before urinating or poo-ing. When they urine or poo, I gotta give a cue. Not before nor after. After a few weeks, they will urine or poo on cue already. By 1 year old, they will be able to control their spinchter and go diaperless. hmm... I am thinking maybe a cloth nappy will do the job too. But I am worried about the soiled mattresses. Any ideas how to prevent soiled mattress?

An interesting website on infant potty training: http://timl.com/ipt/

2008-05-12T16:17:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I went for Shichida class with Aloysius. It’s my first time for this term. We have 3 new classmates. Hmm… it did not go well for me. I was pretty stressed up and exhausted after the lesson. I gotta feed the gals before we left home, and rushed there in a cab. We reached there on time, but to find a long, long queue at the door to measure temperature. After that, I realized the classroom is changed. My hubby did not tell me there’s a change in classroom. And I could not find anyone at the reception to help me to check which classroom I should go to. It took a while there too. When we reached the class, I was already quite upset cos we were rather late. We were not settled. Aloysius keep climbing on the chair. Even during his favourite flashcards and sawako sessions, he was distracted. His classmate beside us kept eating sweets almost throughout the lesson. And she has got a toy gun that can make sound. At the end of the lesson, I was already exhausted. I think somehow Aloysius knew I was not in a very good mood. He was a good boy. He walked all the way to the MRT. On the train, I teared and the tears rolled down my cheeks. I was very sad how come I do not understand my Aloysius anymore. Aloysius kept calling me “mama” and looked at my teary eyes. He knew I was sad. I gave him a hug. He continued to walk on his own when we got down the train. Usually, he will want me to carry him all the way. He walked till he almost tripped on the uneven pavement, and asked me to carry him home. So pitiful hor? Perhaps his legs are tired already. He had never walked so far.

During this lesson, we were given the reconfirmation letter for next term. If we want to withdraw, we can write in before 25 May. I was rather negative after the lesson and thought that if it’s so stressful, I might as well withdraw him from SM. Being stressed up and upset is not doing any good to both of us, and will not be good in the long run. Learning should be in a relaxed environment. I am also stressed up at home trying to do the homework. Come to think of it, I really enjoyed his lesson at Julia Gabriel.

2008-05-02T07:14:00.000+08:00

Last Tuesday, I accompanied Aloysius for his Julia Gabriel playclub. It’s the first time since I gave birth. He was very happy along the way. When we reached the class, he dun wanna go into class and clung on to me for a few minutes. Perhaps he’s afraid that I will be gone. After a while, he slowly get into the routine of the class. He was very happy. On and off, he looked for me and hugged me. Both of us enjoyed the class very much.

Bernice and Charlene are 1 month old!

2008-04-27T04:08:00.000+08:00

We celebrated Bernice’s and Charlene’s full month yesterday afternoon. We did not invite many people as compared to Aloysius’ full month celebration. It was very tiring when we had Aloysius’ full month celebration, so we decided not to invite too many. We ordered the buffet from Purple Sage. The table set-up was ready at 10am. And the food was ready by 10.30am. We did not take many photos though. The moments will be remembered in our heart :). Just like what Harv Eker mentioned. He shared with us a story on how he missed the precious moments of his daughter’s graduation ceremony when he was busy capturing the event with a video camera. Hmm… It’s quite true, I feel. Sometimes, when Aloysius was in a very happy mood and kept smiling, singing and dancing, when I took out the camera, the happiness is kinda broken. I do not know if it feels the same to you…

When we were busy preparing, our neighbour gave Aloysius a piece of chocolate :(. It’s quite sweet. My sister put it into her mouth when she saw. Hahaha… He had a small bite of the chocolate though. I do not want him to have food with sugar and preservatives. At least my sis now understands why I do not like him to be fed food with high sugar and preservatives. She’s a graduate in psychology and she’s quite particular of childhood learning abilities. Then at the buffet, to my dismay, he was fed with cakes and ribena behind my back :(. I already closed one eye when he was fed with the cake. I started to feel very angry. I told them not to feed him ribena, but they continued when I walked away. Why do they wanna do that? They knew very well that I do not want Aloysius to drink anything with sugar. Turned Aloysius to face the wall and feed? Am I dumb? The function room is small, and I could still see, and I am not dumb. Haiz… I suddenly felt very sad why I cannot take good care of Aloysius anymore :(. I felt so helpless and at the same time, tired. I am hoping things will get better when the maid arrives. I want to take good care of my ABC myself, at least in their first 3 years. The first 3 years is very critical in their development. I do not think I can trust the doting grandparents. I want my kids to be close to their grandparents, but their love for them will just make them do things that will make me angry. How? We have different opinions in child raising and their diet. I do not believe in sweets, canned drinks, packet drinks, Ribena, processed food, titbits for my kids, but the grandparents do. When a little bit can become a lot without their realization… Sugar and preservatives can cause behaviour problems and also learning abilities in kids. How I wish I am a superwoman! Anyone can give me the power to be a superwoman? ;)

Inaugaral outing with ABC!

2008-04-25T02:35:00.001+08:00

Yesterday was Bernice’s and Charlene’s first outing, together with Aloysius. We went to Mt. E to see a cardiac surgeon for my dad. There were 6 adults handling my ABC :). All of us went into the consultation room. As usual, Aloysius was very curious. There’s a wash hand basin in the consultation room, he wanted to wash his hands. There’s a fish tank with a few goldfishes which kept him amazed for a while, while we discussed with the doctor. The doctor was very patient and attention. He made us feel very comfortable with him. During the discussion, Bernice wanted milk. I breastfed her for a while. Aloysius walked around the consultation room. When we were done with the questions that we wanted to clarify, Charlene wanted milk. I latch her on in the sling. After talking to the nurse, we went for lunch at Paragon. I carried Charlene and my hubby carried Bernice while we ate. My mum fed Aloysius. After lunch, Aloysius went for lesson at Julia Gabriel with his daddy and the rest went home :). It was quite an easy outing though :) Maybe next time we will venture out longer with them. Some how, I think we will need a car already.

Peace for me...

2008-04-23T13:57:00.001+08:00

Hello bloggers,

I am peacefully having my lunch now with some relaxing classical music :). Yummy… I just stirred fried rice with lots of sesame oil, ginger, garlic and pumpkin. It tastes quite good to me. Plus my mum’s 爱心 pork. She cooked for me in the morning in JB and asked my brother to bring it for me. I felt so loved by my mum and felt so touched today :). Hmm… Am I being emotional or what? Hee… Just now, I was thinking, what am I feeling. Somehow I felt angry that she’s not around to help me. On the other hand, I felt that my dad need her more than me. Then I thought about POV. From POV, I learnt that the elder child of the family will usually have “attention fight” with the daddy. Hmm… I cannot recall the exact word they use. The eldest child will usually fight for attention from the mommy since birth with the daddy, unless we are willing to heal and accept this. I am the eldest. Perhaps it’s in the subconscious or unconscious mind. I am seeing this in Aloysius and his daddy too. It’s shown in some of the actions they have. Think I have this challenge with my dad too. My mum gotta stay with my dad, cos there’s a risk that he will get heart attack anytime. And I am here having mixed feeling whether my mum should be helping me or my dad more. How to heal this part? I have no idea man… Maybe I will have to ask my sister who has gone through POV apprenticeship, and POV trainer to be.

Aloysius is in JB under the care of my mum and dad today. He was so happy last nite when we asked him if he wanna go to JB. He got lots of “ransack” and explore there, including escalating the window grilles to near the ceiling! Wow… practicing his motor skills eh? But it’s scary to us… hahaha…

I am home with Bernice and Charlene now. I am still coping well with them. They will just wake up to drink milk and sleep. But these few days, their waking hours is getting longer. I will try to do the balance activities recommended by Glen Doman with them. They wanted to be carried to fall asleep. I am really sorry that I gotta let them cry hard sometimes, cos I was busy. I am hoping that things will get better when my helper arrives. No, I am sure it will be better :).

Yesterday, I was home alone with all the 3 of them. I almost gone crazy in the afternoon after Aloysius woke up from his nap. Aloysius hurt his toe and was bleeding. He was crying very loudly and unconsoleably. I am wondering why his pain tolerance suddenly became so low. Attention seeking? Maybe… Or spoilt by the grandparents? Could be another reason too. Then Bernice and Charlene woke and cried for milk. I gotta feed them and entertain Aloysius to keep him happy. After the milk feed, I gotta prepare lunch for Aloysius and feed him. Bernice and Charlene decided that they wanna be carried to sleep and refused to lie on the bed. In the end, I gotta sling Charlene, carry Bernice on the other side, and preventing Aloysius from “ransacking” my kitchen. He was on the kitchen knife yesterday! It was madness. After ransacking my kitchen, Aloysius decided to climb and sit on the dining table to throw the things on the floor. ***faintz*** Finally, I managed to coax the gals to sleep in the cot. Then I prepared lunch for Aloysius. That was 3pm already :(. The gals were only willing to sleep in the cot for a few minutes. I gotta go in and out of the kitchen to carry and put them down again, and continue my food preparation. It was really tiring. Then Aloysius spit out his rice on the table and floor, and put out his hand to ask me to “beat beat”. ***faintz*** I did not beat him and did not say anything about it. And he stopped doing that. Phew… Then I continued to soothe the gals, carry and put down many times, and at the same time feeding Aloysius. Sweat… My home was like a war zone yesterday afternoon. Hahaha… My BIL came back early yesterday. Phew… he came back to help me to play with Aloysius, while I rest in bed. My legs and back were aching. He helped me to carry the gals for a while when they woke. Then Aloysius decided to climb on the bed to sleep beside me. When my parents came, he woke up and went to JB. What a day I had!

Today is more peaceful :) I was thinking how long can I last like this. Perhaps I will need a day off from the kids and have some time solely for myself once a month. I felt so imbalanced and deprived of my own time. I cannot even go to the toilet in peace sometimes. Okie dokie, I finished my yummy lunch. Gotta go and rest already. I am exhausted and aching all over again… Later gotta capture some nice photos of Bernice and Charlene to apply their passport. Kiko mat here I come… :)

About eggs. Eggs or egeless?

2008-04-22T12:03:00.003+08:00

This is what I tried to translate from Prof. Shichida's book <<脑内食品卵磷脂>>

Eggs is worse than meat and dairy products. Eggs mainly consist of animal protein, better avoid eating. Eggs last time and now are different. The protein quality are different and has deteriorated. Chickens cannot survive in a natural environment now, and the considering the food fed to the chickens, the quality of the eggs are no good.
If kids eat egg everyday, kids will be uneasy and get angry easily. If stop eating eggs, these signs will go away.
According to an American research, it was reported that egg hinder a kids' IQ. This research found out from 600 mentally weak kids love to eat eggs. If a normal child eat more than 6 eggs a day, school results will deteriorate very fast.

Many chefs who often fry eggs, will have mentally instability or weird. Just breathing in the smoke from the frying eggs, will cause undesirable effect.
Egg white contains "ruan4 bai2 shu4 wu4 zhi4" (dunno what's that in English), when mixed with something in the human body, will cause problems in the nervous system or skin problems. Apart from these, although we still do not know exactly what is in the eggs that can cause brain nervous system breakdown, the increase in people with mental illness is in line with the increase in consumption of eggs. Eggs is also a cause of allergy. The protein in egg white is the same as the protein in cow's products which is very small in size, which can be absorbed into the bloodstream, hence causing allergy.
Kids with middle ear infection, most of them eat eggs daily.

Disclaimer: The benefits of eggs is controversial. You choose what you believe ya?

How are we coping?

2008-04-21T03:25:00.003+08:00

Hello bloggers,

Maybe you are wondering how are we coping with the 2 gals and Aloysius. Well, so far so good. Things got better with the kids. The gals will usually drink milk and sleep most of the times. Over these few days, both of them wanna be carried for a while in the evening. I have started some of the balance activities from Glen Doman program from "How smart is your baby", whenever there's opportunity and I have the time.

I had a few hours taste of home alone with 2 babies and 1 toddler last nite! I also had a taste of comforting 3 of them, all at the same time. Imagine having to feed both Bernice and Charlene at the same time, and patting Aloysius to sleep. Phew... Too bad, my hubby was in a bad mood, and all 3 cried togather. My hubby was tired after looking after Aloysius for the day, hence in a very bad mood when Aloysius started to cry for no apparent reason. Aloysius seems to be at a stage of when he cries, he will cry as loud as possible. hmm... Probably will try to "correct" that behaviour. Will have to read up on that. I guess it's partly attention seeking too. It was the first time he's crying for "no reason". I suddenly felt like I do not understand him. Nevertheless, I stayed calm and looked at him when he cried till he stopped. After he stopped, he lay down beside me and slept. Could it be because he's tired too? Dr. Sears mentioned some where in his "The good behaviour book" that the worst time and most ill-discipline time is when the parents are tired. hmm... quite true to a large extent.

If it's not attention seeking, it's could be that he has superb ESP. At that moment, I received a phone call from my sister that the hospital called that my dad could not breath. My sis told me that my dad was gasping for oxygen, shivering and sweating all over :( Aloysius is pretty close to my mom and my dad. Perhaps, he could sense something there. At one point before he fell asleep, he told me "por por" :( I could only tell him that "por por" is in JB, looking after "gong gong".

This morning, I am going to be home alone with my A, B, C again till my MIL comes in the afternoon. Fingers and toes crossed that I will make it, ya? :) I am imagining that I should make it. B and C usually sleep a lot in the morning. I will just boil lotus root soup for mine and Aloysius' lunch. If I have some time, probably I will stir fry some vegetable for both of us. hmm... should I let Aloysius self-feed? Perhaps... I am afraid of the mess though. However, he gotta start learning how to self-feed. The more he practice, the more perfect he will get. It gotta start somewhere. I just read from Shichida's book that self-feeding and discipline during feeding is a start to independence and discipline in future.

Okie dokie, I better go and rest more now. Later...

Abstract Art by Aloysius?

2008-04-21T03:07:00.005+08:00

Aloysius loves to "play" with my camera. He's done with exploring the lens, menu, buttons, zoom. He's now into the viewfinder, replay, and the capture button. Here's a photo of his work :)

Aloysius will "write" or "draw" occasionally on his doodle pad. So far, I have been teaching him how to hold a pen or pencil properly. It's not easy though. This is a picture that he has drawn. What does it look like?

My A, B, C :)

2008-04-16T15:36:00.001+08:00

I finally got some time now. Aloysius is in JB with my parents. I am home alone with the two gals. And they are sleeping now. Things are getting better and better by the days :) The first two nights home from hospital was very stressful and tiring. Luckily, Aloysius was in JB then. Really thank my parents for bringing Aloysius back to JB. For some reasons, the gals could not sleep and we did not know what they needed. They just kept crying the whole night. For a while, I thought, was it because I had done something not so right during pregnancy. I told myself that situation will get better and better. I also apologized to the gals if I had hurt their feelings and causing insecurity in them while they were in my tummy. Prof Shichida states in his book that babies who cry for no reason at night are insecured and emotionally hurt during pregnancy. To “cure” this, I gotta apologise and hug them. So, I did. Luckily things got better on the third day when Aloysius came back. The gals finally started to sleep soundly at night, and only waking up for feeds. On the first nite with 2 babies and a toddler in the room, it was a bit challenging. When the babies cry, Aloysius woke up as well. After a couple of days, things settled down again. We can sleep peacefully at night again :) My hubby and I tried looking after 3 for a day on our own. It was good :). My hubby still could manage to clear the storeroom. Phew…

Aloysius was a very happy boy ever since we came back from hospital with his two sisters :). Till today, he’s still a very happy boy. He will explore whatever he wants, except his toys. Hahaha… He loves the kitchen and my wardrobe. Nowadays, he will go to the bookshelf to take out some books to flip too :) I felt guilty at times cos I have not got the energy to read properly to him for a few weeks already. I started with his flashcards already. I did flashcards sessions 3 times last week. I will have to change some of the speed reading cards and the categories before showing them to him again. My hubby bought him a set of 28 pieces puzzles. He’s enjoying the puzzles too :) Recently, he got bored of his little touch leappad already. Perhaps, time to open up more leappad stories for him.

The gals are doing very well. I am very happy about that. They were classified as “a little premature” by the PD. They are jaundiced free, which I am very proud of :). The nurse at the hospital told me all babies will get jaundice and it’s normal. Hmm… It’s more like “it’s common” than “it’s normal”. Jaundice in babies is not very common last time. It’s another long story what I do to get them to be jaundice free. They are growing very well, and drinking well too. So far, no vomiting at all after milk feeds. I am 100% breastfeeding them and I latch on. I seldom burp them also cos I think latch on should not cause a lot of wind, and not much time to burp also.

At 3 weeks’ old, both Bernice and Charlene can flip from tummy to back. They can turn their head left and right while sleeping on their tummy. And they are crawling too! The distance that they can crawl is getting longer by the days. It’s unbelievable!

Another unbelievable thing which I do not know whether to believe or not. Charlene can see outline at about 10 days old! My BIL carried her and move his head left and right. He reported that Charlene’s eyes followed his head left and right. Wow! Bernice can see outline at 3 weeks’ old. I moved my hand in front of her. She moved her eyes to follow my hand. They have been looking at the checker boards during their waking hours since they got home from the hospital. Hmm... According to Glen Doman, the eye sight grows by use. The brain also grows by use. Perhaps the checker boards did help. They love to stare at the checker boards though. I will be starting with the solid shapes soon. Need to spend some time to dig them out from the storeroom.

Arrival of the twins!

2008-04-06T19:31:00.002+08:00

Hello bloggers,

I would like to announce the arrival of my twin gals on 26 Mar '08 - Bernice and Charlene! They are both very healthy and 11 days old now.

Here's my long long long story...
I went for my weekly check-up after attending Julia Gabriel class with Aloysius. My blood pressure went up to a "dangerous" level. It has been going up for the last 2 weeks since Aloysius fell sick and I also got the flu virus from him. Everyone was sick in the family. I gotta look after Aloysius on my own too, cos my mum went for a tour at that time. It was indeed quite a tiring and stressful few weeks. hmm... Doc prescribed medication for me to lower the blood pressure, but I did not take them :P. After the check-up, doc wanted me to get admitted for blood pressure monitoring through the night, and c-section the next day at 4.30pm. We were not really prepared. The twins were only 36+ weeks, Aloysius was still having cough, and I was still coughing too. Doc said the risk of me getting pneumonia is lesser than the lives of the twins. If my blood pressure do go above 150/100mmHg, even if it's midnight, Dr. Chew will have to perform the c-section to take them out immediately. I was like... wah... that serious ah... When I was admitted, my blood pressure hovers around 145/95mmHg. I waited a few hours for my sis to arrive with Indinine and Vplus. I started to take 2 Indinine and a handful of Vplus every two hours. Let me tell you... Indinine and Vplus worked! In the morning, my blood pressure went down to normal around 110/70mmHg. I was hoping to be discharged and postpone the c-section when doc came in the morning. But he did not want me to take the risk. So c-section still scheduled at 4.30pm on 26 Mar 08, after my doc finished his meeting.
Tell you a secret... kekeke... Dun scold me also ok? Promise? hahaha... I was prescribed stronger pills for lowering the blood pressure to take for the night. I did not consume any! hee... I thought, well, I was already hospitalised, and doc was prepared to deliver my babies anytime, so just take Indinine and Vplus :) Indinine can help in lessening the pain in post surgery too. I had taken lots of medications for this pregnancy as compared to when I was pregnant with Aloysius. I felt like a drug addict at some point that I had to take Ventolin religiously to prevent premature contractions. When I got busy with things and with Aloysius, I get frequent contractions which I gotta take Ventolin to make them subside.
The wait was very boring. I wanted to go for a walk, but was forbidden to get down the bed, just in case my blood pressure shoot up again :(. Sobs... Cannot go "pak tor" with hubby. But at least I still can go for a nice and warm shower :) I was suppose to stop eating by 10am. kekeke... I continued my Indinine - 2 Indinine every 2 hours ;) I was afraid of the pain the moment I wake up after surgery. The last time, I needed the maximum dose of morphine and was on morphine drip. Even the anaesthetist thought I was a drug addict before. hahaha... hmm... yes.. I was on painkiller for years when I was still in school. Painkiller drug addict, I was.
Terence and I decided to take some photos during the wait. We were figuring out how to put on the timer to take a picture togather. hahaha... suddenly, I felt Bernice's violent kicks and punches. The next minute I know, I felt a gush of water coming out. The waterbag burst! hmm... The gals have selected the best time they wanna come out. The night before, I was telling them that doc had scheduled them to be born at 4.30pm, and if they do not like the timing, they can choose the timing by breaking the waterbag. hmm... Does "tai jiao" really work? I guess so... :) Thank you gals for telling mommy what time you wanna be born... We did not manage to capture any photos. Everything happened so fast after that. Terence went to inform the nurse. Doc wanted immediate c-section. Guess he came out from his meeting halfway... 3 nurses came to help me to clean up and get ready to go to the OT. The staffs at Gleneagles really work very fast indeed. My anaesthetist was already waiting at the door. He reminded the nurse to inform the PD to standby "becos it's twins". hmm... twins that high risk of having problems meh? My doc was the last to arrive. The twins were born within half an hour after the whole episode of the breakage of the waterbag.

This time round, I did not wake up in excruciating pain as compared to the last two surgeries. Probably it's becos I took enough Indinine before the surgery. Remember, I still took 2 every 2 hours even after I was not supposed to be eating anymore :). I only needed Pethidine painkiller instead of the morphine last time. The last time during Aloysius' birth, I only ate 4 Indinine 8 hours before the surgery, and Pethidine was not good enough. This time, it could also be because I am "healthier" internally after 2+ years of taking 2 Indinine and 80 Vplus a day. This, I must thank my hubby for paying for all these supplements for me :) I could see lots of improvement in my health from the iris scan too.

After the painkiller drip was removed, the nurses kept on tempting me to take oral painkiller, which I rejected :) I took 2 Indinine and a handful of Vplus every 3 hours for the next few days.

High blood pressure!

2008-03-25T19:30:00.002+08:00

We went to see Dr. Chew at about 5pm. I gained 3kg in 1 week! Wow! I was 67.5kg. Unfortunately, my blood pressure increased further. Dr. Chew wanted me to be admitted immediately and c-section tomorrow afternoon at 4.30pm after his meeting. Sobs… His nurse gave me a jab to lower the blood pressure before we walked over to admission. Oh my! That jab is indeed very drowsy. The drowsiness set in while we were waiting for the admission. I just felt like closing my eyes at the sofa.

Along the way, Aloysius knew the day is here. He wanted me to carry him. He wanted his daddy to put down my bag. He just wanted us to stay put. He cried when we moved a step. We gotta stop a few times to talk to him.

How many days?

2008-03-25T12:46:00.001+08:00

We will be seeing Dr. Chew this afternoon after Aloysius’ class at JG. We have decided to ask Dr. Chew if we can postpone the c-section to 2 April 08. The date given by doc is 29 March 08. Fingers crossed that Dr. will agree. Aloysius is still having a bit of cough, and I caught the virus again. I guess it will depend on my blood pressure also. I have been having high blood pressure for the past 2 weeks. It could be because I fell sick. Dr. Chew said that could be one of the reason, else it’s because I am having twins. Hmm… I dun really believe in the latter :). If it’s because I am having twins, I better be more watchful of my own health.

Count down...

2008-03-24T10:44:00.002+08:00

Now, we are counting down to the birth of our gals :). The scheduled c-section date is 29Mar08, this Saturday! Only a few more days to go though… However, Aloysius has caught a nasty flu virus, which I believe is from JG. He’s down with high fever, running nose and cough. He fell sick 3 weeks ago and took about a week to recover. The virus was passed to my mum, my dad, me, and my sis. I have not fallen so sick for ages already. I lost 2.5kg, but Dr. Chew said that it’s fine. It’s really quite a challenge and very tiring being pregnant with a big tummy and being sick, and having to look after a sick toddler. Aloysius became very clingy to me. When he rest in bed, I will need to be beside him. The moment I get up, he will get up. Even going to the toilet, I will have to tell him to give me 2 minutes. Luckily, he’s fine with that. I will be seeing Dr. Chew again tomorrow. Aloysius seems to be well again. Fingers crossed… If his fever still come and go today, I will ask Dr. Chew to postpone the C-section.

For the past 3 days, Aloysius has been surviving only on water, lots of Vplus, Indinine, coconut water and flesh. He has certainly lost some weight :(

Aloysius gave me a surprise while being sick. He was lying on the bed, and I was beside him. I thought maybe I can recite 三字经 to him. I went “人之初，性本”, and Aloysius continued “善” :). Then I went on with the whole “人之初” and let him fill in the blanks at the full stop. He got them all correct! The words just seem to come naturally to him. Of course, I was very happy. This morning, I tried again, giving him more challenge to let him fill in every third word. He got most of them correct! Wow… He’s my star! Mommy here does not even know about “三字经” till I got pregnant with him.

I tried to play with him as much as possible on the bed for the past week. I am guilty of stopping his favourite flashcards sessions for 3 weeks already. I hope I have made the right decision since I am pretty low in energy. I will use up a lot of energy during flashcards sessions, cos I gotta be energetic and enthusiastic about it in order to keep and maintain his interests.

Oh yes, we have decided on the names of our gals :) – Bernice and Charlene. It’s really interesting how I got their names. For Bernice, we were deciding among Bernice, Belle, Beatriz from a name book. As for Charlene, one fine early morning, I suddenly woke up with this name in my head. Then my hubby also likes this name, so we just settled with the name. Maybe it’s baby telling me she wanna be named Charlene :)

Counting down already...

2008-02-26T06:09:00.002+08:00

It has been some time since I wrote a blog. I have been very busy with the new franchise trading, plus busy with Aloysius. I have changed my priority. My priority is to nurture and spend more time with Aloysius, instead of the internet and blogs. He’s growing very fast. I am still carrying out his favourite flashcards sessions. However, I skipped some days here and there when I get too busy.

How is Aloysius?

Aloysius’ is getting very cute and exploratory. He’s my dearest exploring genius. Lately, after attending a few weeks of classes at Julia Gabriel Playclub, he’s learning to keep toys back after playing with them, of course, with my instructions. He still loves the kitchen. A few weeks ago, he had the pleasure to play with my bucket of rice. Initially, he took out the things that are hiding the bucket, then scooping handfuls of rice throwing them on the lid on the bucket. After a while, before I knew it, he’s decided to spread the rice at every corners and every tiles of the kitchen!

My genius is starting to take toys apart too. Hahaha… Engineer in the making? Hmm… I, personally dun believe in surviving being an engineer… :P

Over the last few weeks, the whole family is enjoying his language development. A few days ago, he surprised me with his counting in English from one to twelve on his own! Then a few days after that, he surprised me with his counting in Mandarin from one to ten on his own! On Valentine’s day, it was “奶奶” birthday. I practiced with him saying “祝你生日快乐”. He could say every word, but he decided not to say them when we were on the phone with his “奶奶”. I can imagine, by two years old, he should be able to sing his own birthday song in Mandarin. He loves blowing the candles though. Whenever he sees candles in books, he will start to clap and blow. Lately, I have been teaching him to say “奶奶，你好吗?奶奶，你吃饱了没有?” He did followed when he was on the phone with “奶奶” twice so far. His words are rather accurate. Perhaps it’s the efforts of not speaking baby languages to him. A few weeks ago, my mum taught him “nen nen” for milk, and he got that! Just once and he got that! It took a few days to erase that though. Hahaha… Some how, he knows Mandarin and English, and can link them up. For example, he knows milk is “奶” in Mandarin, horse is “马” in Mandarin, MRT is “地铁” in Mandarin. He seems to know how to read words now. He will read some categories of his flashcards to me. Ok, I shall not test him :)

Another “cute” thing that he loves to do now is to imitate anyone talking on the phone. Warning: His imitation skill is superb! Today, he took his dad’s “The attitudes of wealth” cards and started chanting in his own language, as if he’s reading from the card. Hahaha… It was so funny. He knows the meaning of “no” and “yes” now, and when to use them.

I revised Glen Doman’s book about speaking baby language. It’s disrespectful to the child to speak baby language. The child will learn them and get confused when they grow up when they will be told to “unlearn” the baby language. So, it’s more respectful to speak in proper language with the child :).

Aloysius is still attending classes at Julia Gabriel twice a week, and his weekly lesson at Shichida Method. He has a playclub “bag” for his artworks, and he loves carrying his bag to “school” :). He enjoys his classes very much. We are very blessed with good teachers for Aloysius. Nowadays, I am cutting down on my activity with him in class. For JG, my mum will help me with attending the classes with Aloysius. For Shichida class, his daddy will bring him for class.

How are my gals?

I am pretty big in size now. Some people told me that I do not look pregnant from the back, except no waist. Hahaha…When I looked at myself in the mirror, I do look like I gonna be back to original size immediately after giving birth. Just take out the gals and I will be slim immediately. Fingers crossed… Ahhem… I have stretch marks now. Lots of them. My hubby said he gonna invest in Miraeca and Mior for my tummy. Kekeke… It’s so sweet of him, isn’t it? More on the power of Miraeca and Mior later…

I just had the final detailed scan yesterday. Twin A is 2.00kg now, and Twin B is 2.04kg. By using LMP calculation, they are 32 weeks 1 day. After the measurements, they are about 33 weeks on average. They are growing very well, isn’t it? Being curious, I compared their weight and gestation age with other single babies, they are not on the small side. I am very happy that they are growing as well as those single babies :). Maybe it’s the “tai jiao” that I have been doing on and off, and/or my efforts in popping lots of VPlus and Indinine, and also 2 teaspoon of lecithin daily. Oh yes, the sonographer told me they are still moving and floating freely in the amniotic fluid too. Hmm... I read from Shichida’s book that lecithin is very important for the quality of the amniotic fluid during pregnancy. Oh yes, I am also trying my best to drink as much carrot juice as I can. Remember the vegan boy I met a while ago? His mum took lots of carrot juice during pregnancy and he was the most pink baby in the nursery, and did not have any jaundice at all.

After the scan, we saw Dr. Chew. He suggested c-section on 29 March, at 37 weeks! He said because I had two open surgeries before, one for fibroid and one c-section, it’s better not to take the risk of delaying till 38 weeks. Hmm… Most likely, we will heed his advice cos it’s a risk of 3 lives. I will be busy over the next few weeks to get the things ready, and also “shopping” for a maid. I still gotta clear the storeroom for a maid though. Gonna get some shelving ready. I ordered a Pump In Style Advanced from US. I will be receiving it today. I am so excited… I planned to breastfeed my gals till one year old :).

Oh yes, before I forget, Dr. Chew did a 3D scan of the face of Twin A (Oops… I haven’t got their names yet.). She looks like my hubby! Hopefully, there will be another chance to scan the face of Twin B :). It’s weekly visits to Dr. Chew from now…

Later all...

Welcome 2008!

2008-01-03T21:09:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year, everyone! :) I have cut down the time I spent on the internet lately. I have a different focus for the New Year :) I know and believe that 2008 will be a fruitful and fulfilling year for me. I am deeply grateful for this. Wish you, my dear friends, a fruitful, fulfilling 2008 too. Wish you abundant of wealth, health, happiness and successes. I am grateful to my dear sister for introducing me to “The Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Eker. I am thankful that I have the perseverance to follow the 90 days wealth conditioning program. I truly believe that lucrative opportunities always come my way. I am attending “Life Directions” end of this month, and “Train the trainer” end of February. I am grateful that I can attend these courses with my twins :) These are good for “tai jiao” and certainly going to have an impact on their life during their growing up years. Of course, my hubby will be attending these with us too!

Have you thought of what are the things that you are grateful for in 2007? I am very grateful for having a super healthy, adorable, happy and smart Aloysius. He’s picking things up very fast. Sometimes, when he’s sleeping, I tell him that he will learn things very fast and will apply whatever he learns immediately. I also tell him that learning is a simple, easy, natural and a very happy journey. Learning is as simple and natural as breathing. I am grateful that I am in a positive environment, and with a group of people who believe in holistic education for their children. It’s not widely acceptable here in Singapore by the older generation. I will say this is something “new age”, or some may label it “ang mo” way. I am grateful to these people who showed me the way. Thank you very much, my dear friends.

I am deeply, deeply grateful for having a supportive husband who goes all out to support my decisions in my life directions and decisions. He also gives me lots of emotional support to calm my souls. He still pampers me like before. It’s as though we are still in courtship or honeymoon time. He gave me a surprise Christmas present :) It’s a beautiful and sweet necklace from Tiffany. Thank you very much for being my pillar of support, darling :). Thank you very much for everything. I am grateful that he’s a very dedicated daddy and an excellent playmate to Aloysius when I need some rest. And hey, he can be a nanny to Aloysius too! :)

Today was Aloysius’ inaugural lesson at Julia Gabriel playclub. He learns very fast. Today’s alphabet is “h”. He even has a stamp “h” on both of his hands. When I ask him where is “h”, he will point at the stamp on his hand. When I asked him how does “h” sound like, he will copy the teacher by putting his hands at his mouth and goes “haa haa haa”. So cute…

After Julia Gabriel class, we went to Gleneagles for routine check-up on the twins :). They are about the same size and are growing very well. One is on the left side and the other is on the right side. Doc told us “five more weeks”, but we dunno what he’s referring too. Initially, we thought “are the twins going to come out in 5 weeks’ time”. I still do not know what is the doc talking about this “5 more weeks”. When we clarified, he just said I will see you next in 3 weeks’ time, then it will be every 2 weeks subsequently. Maybe it’s 5 more weeks to reach week 30.

Christmas 2007!

2007-12-26T17:07:00.000+08:00

It’s Aloysius’ second Christmas. On Christmas eve, we went to Borders for the whole afternoon and bought lots of books. Apart from getting more books for Aloysius, I have decided that I must get some books for myself. Hahaha… More books for me... I got two books on parenting :). One book is about what to expect for twins from pregnancy till their school years. It’s quite an easy book to read. Since it’s in English, I can read it faster. Hahaha… The other book is “The rules of parenting” by Richard Templar. I think it’s a new book cos it’s the first time I saw it in Borders :). I haven’t really read it, only browsed through it once. It seems interesting and will be a book that will be able to calm my souls during challenging times as a mother. There are days when I get very frustrated and angry with Aloysius too. I also bought a box of Spanish flashcards. One side is Spanish word and illustration, and the other side is the translation in English :). That’s for Aloysius. I haven’t opened that up though. I also bought two boxes of interesting cards from “Brain Quest” for Aloysius. I wish I had more time at Borders. I wanna buy some books on juices for health. Maybe next time when Borders have sale again… After all the buying at Borders, we went home for a nice and cosy dinner :) Luckily, we did not plan to eat out. It was very crowded at Orchard Road.

On Christmas day, we went for a small Christmas party. It’s a party with 4 boys! Hahaha… All of them love to ride on the car. When one wanted to ride on the car, the rest also want. It’s Aloysius’ first time tasting some cakes and cookies. So far, I haven’t given him food with sugar nor eggs.

After the party, we went to Orchard Road for some shopping :). It was indeed a tiring day for me. My legs have never hurt that much…

Falling in love with Aloysius again.

2007-12-22T07:54:00.001+08:00

Aloysius is getting very adorable lately. He knows how to follow instructions and is starting to speak more words, depending on his mood. He can pronounce his name, Yang Zheng Yu, very accurately. My dad showed him his photo on the mobile phone, and he went “Yang Zheng Yu”. He knows how to address everyone in the family now, but that gotta highly depend on his mood.

He enjoys pointing at the pictures of his books for me to tell him what it’s called. He has “upgraded” his “I love you, Little Mouse” book to “Thank you, Little Mouse”, and “Good night, Little Mouse”. Sometimes I will ask him where is butterfly, spider, snail, bee, cherry, strawberry, blackberry, apple, pumpkin, etc, etc. He will point them to me :). These are the outputs I am getting from him. He prefers me to read them in English. Sometimes, when I read in Mandarin, he will “protest”.

For his language development, there’s some improvement. He’s getting less frustrated now as compared to last month. He used to cry and whine when he wanted something last month. I constantly told him that he gotta say it out what he wanted, and crying will not make mommy understand him. He can express what he want better, or rather I can understand him. Hahaha… I am hoping to increase his language ability before he turns 2. Anybody has any suggestion what I can do? I revised Shichida’s book <<零岁教育基础>> that the “terrible two” stage can be avoided or a breeze when the child has good linguistic and motor skills. From 2 to 2 and half years old, they are at the stage when they have strong sense of what they want and exploration. They will become frustrated and have a feeling of failure if their need for exploration and understanding are not satisfied. According to Jane, his teacher at Shichida Method, to improve language skills, we gotta do more flashcards and speed reading. Hmm… I thought I have been doing lots of them. Maybe it’s time to review what improvements I need to make.

A few days ago, he threw everything on the coffee table to the floor, and climbed up the coffee table. Then he started to “talk” for quite a while. Hahaha… dunno where did he learn that from. The night before, I brought him for a seminar. I wonder if he’s imitating the speaker speaking. Sometimes, he will be making some noises while playing with his toys or reading his books. I still haven’t decipher whether he’s reading or he’s singing. Sometimes, it can get quite high pitch.

Sometimes, dunno whether to get angry with him with the things Aloysius explores. A few days ago, he climbed up the toilet bowl, cleared the shelves for me. I wonder when he’s going to stop the test of gravity. Hahaha…

Nowadays, I will give him some fruits in the morning. He will sit in his high chair and self feed the fruits with a fork. For now, he loves pear, dragonfruit, mango, jackfruit. He still loves his oatmeal. I usually add black sesame seeds and lecithin, and sometimes wheatgerm into his oatmeal. He loves carrot and apple juice too. He prefers to eat plain white rice with sweet potato too. Because of his love for just plain white rice, I have started to give him vegetable juices. I have started with adding broccoli, celery, beetroot so far. Hmm… maybe cabbage juice next. And also for myself :).

I am hoping to cultivate his love for reading. He will sit on the floor and flip his favourite books. When he needs me to read to him, he will bring the book to where I am and sit on the floor with the book. Sometimes, I felt that I do not have enough time to read to him. I am trying to sit with him and play his toys with him whenever I can.

He still loves his flashcards sessions. He will clap whenever I asked him to clap when I am changing the categories of cards. However, after the flashcards sessions, he always wants to play with my stack of cards. He will take a few cards and flip them and speak in his “language”, as if flashing the cards to me. Hahaha…

When I am typing this, Aloysius is wiping the floor! Hahaha… He took a cloth to wipe the floor on all fours. Then wipe the coffee table with the cloth. Then “dry” the cloth on the table after wiping.

My twins.

2007-12-19T19:44:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, I went for a detailed scan at Gleneagles X-ray department. Both of them are growing very well. One is 495g and the other one is 540g. The difference is not too far :). The scan took 1.5 hours. It was a pretty long one. The sonographer scanned the first one, then went on to the second one after she finished the first baby. I could see them during the scan. They seem to have high noses. Both of them are girls :). Exciting, eh? I am growing pretty fast and big already. Sometimes, can feel very breathless. Doc asked me to start lying on bed to rest! So fast!? Hahaha…. Dun think I can just sleep the whole day long. My girls have been kicking me actively inside.

I really gotta try to do more for both of them. I have to watch my diet more, and drink more fresh juices. And do the "tai jiao". I haven't thought of a dream for them though. So far, whenever I have the chance, I will try to imagine to make energy balls and send to them :)

An amazing baby and mommy!

2007-12-19T13:35:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, when I was on my way to Orchard to meet my hubby for lunch and then to Gleneagles to see my gynae, I met an amazing mother with her son on the MRT :). The mother has quit her job just to look after her son. The boy was 13 months old and was rather big size. The mother told me that her son is a vegan. Wow! She has also changed her diet due to her health and pregnancy. She’s a very determined and disciplined woman. She ate only raw vegetables and fruits during her pregnancy, and drank a lot of fresh juices too. I did that for breakfast and lunch when I was pregnant with Aloysius. When my weight got a bit too high, I took 2 cups of carrots and green apple juice in the morning, sometimes added with beetroot and lemon, and my weight was in check. I did not drink as much as she did. She drank the juices 3 to 4 times a day! The juice base is carrot too. Her son was very healthy at birth, and was not jaundiced at all. Aloysius was slightly jaundiced for a few days. She had a lot of breastmilk too. She also read that people with a vegetarian diet will have lots of milk. When I say vegetarian diet, I mean diet with lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, not those deep fried vegetarian stuffs nor the highly processed food. I really admire her that she can eat all the vegetables raw. Her son, is eating raw vegetables and fruits now too. When I read Dr. Bernard Jensen’s book, he also recommended eating raw vegetables because of the nutrients and minerals. The best is to eat the vegetables and fruits plucked from the trees immediately. But that’s not possible in Singapore. She spends $200 a week on vegetables and fruits alone for a family of 3. That’s indeed a lot to me, cos I dun spend that much on vegetables and fruits per week. Oh yes, her son haven’t taken anything with salt and sugar too. Aloysius too :)

As we walked and chatted, she’s also like me, suffered from two miscarriages before she decided to change her and her hubby’s diet. The meet-up is kind of like God-send to remind me to watch I eat! We have several similarities. She’s also an engineer. And she’s my hubby’s schoolmate, same year, same batch, next class only. What a coincidence! She’s also facing pressure and criticism about her son’s diet, and the upbringing. She believes in it’s fine to shower her son with water at our room temperature. Sometimes, I did that for Aloysius too :). The basis for having shower in “cold” water is so that the kid will not fall sick easily. It’s kinda true for me, and it’s true for her too. Oh yes, I think she’s well read cos she was reading while on the MRT, and had a few books in her Quinny.

We had a very nice chat and walk to Tanglin Mall. After chatting with her, I am inspired again to start all my juices and be stricter with my vegetarian diet again. It’s time to review my diet so far. It’s not as good as when I was pregnant with Aloysius. Sometimes, I had cravings for meat and I succumbed to it this time :(. I had some deep fried food here and there too, which I did not take any when pregnant with Aloysius. I wonder if it’s because I did not do a proper detox before the pregnancy, which I did before having Aloysius. I gotta be more disciplined for the health of my twins from now. I will take the effort to buy the carrots and green apples for my juices, and make the juice daily.

Aloysius' shower time.

2007-11-29T02:42:00.001+08:00

Aloysius had been crying very hard when it’s shower time since we came back from KL. When we were at our relative’s place, the shower room made noises when the shower was turned on. Aloysius was very afraid. Despite that, I still showered him. I think I had hurt him some how. He had been crying during shower for a week. He stopped till I followed what Shichida mentioned in his book. I apologized to him when I was giving him a shower. I told him that mama is sorry if mama has hurt you during your shower. I asked him for his forgiveness. It worked immediately! I was amazed! He not only did not cry in his shower, his love playing with the pail of water is back. He played with the toys and water for another hour, and now I have difficulty to convince him to get out after shower. Hope this mini-story will help some parents out there to deal with some problems with their toddlers.

Oh yes... I am having some challenges with potty training. I just bought a book from Borders this evening :) Or rather yesterday evening. Prof. Shichida haven't gone into the details of potty training in his books. I only know that it's a respect to potty train our child. Later all... I am going to sleep already. My twins are kicking me, probably rushing me to bed...

I have a millionaire mind!

2007-11-29T02:38:00.000+08:00

Hahaha… Maybe I am having a fever to have this sentence. I just attended “The Millionaire Mind Intensive” by T.Harv Eker over the weekend. It was a 3 days intensive seminar from 9am till 11pm everyday. Phew… I survived the whole seminar and had a photo with T.Harv Eker. Hahaha… If you are already a millionaire, you may say “chey”, but I am not yet a millionaire :) But I will certainly get there with the new franchise trading international business.

The most impactful segment is the arrow breaking whereby I gotta point the sharp end of the arrow at the softest spot just below our neck, and a partner holding the other end of the arrow. It took me two tries to break it. This segment is about fear, how fear can hinder our own success. I still can remember Harv said that we usually make decision based on fear and guilt. Hmm… Very true for me. Quite similar to what I have learnt in the psychology of vision, but this is more detailed. We signed up for the “quantum leap”, a series of courses and workshops spread out throughout 2008. I decided to sign up on the spot after Harv said, “Decide without fear!” I think I have fear of success. I am fearful of earning more money than I need. It got worse when I got stuck with my paper chase. That’s the first major failure I have in my life. I have fear of failures too. How ironical, isn’t it? I realized that when I was carrying out the arrow breaking segment. I am fearful of success due to my childhood past. When I was young, my dad not only had to feed our own family, he gotta feed several families. It’s families… Priorities are given to the education of the boys, which me and my sisters are not. Anyway, I managed to break the arrow! I just gotta keep moving forward without thinking too much. It’s amazingly easy! After the first try, there are people around me who told me that I can be excused cos I am pregnant. Then I thought, I have been giving lots of excuses not to go forward in my life already, and I must stop all the excuses now. Hence, I gave it another try. I was very lucky that I had a very supportive group of people to cheer me on too.

I am very much looking forward to the next workshop by T. Harv Eker end Jan 08. It will be the first in Asia, so T. Harv Eker will train the participants personally, which I think it will be the best. I only go for the best ;)

We have started the 90 days wealth conditioning program :). I will read the attitudes of wealth declaration daily, a few times a day. For the past two days, I read them to Aloysius too when he’s asleep :) Maybe I should make that into flashcards. Hahaha… Some may say it’s my flashcards craze again. I have thought of making Dale Carnegie’s “teachings” into flashcards for my children too. That is yet to materialize. I need time for myself to do that to make creative cards.

On the second day of the seminar, I met Dr. George Lim, the founder of WBG. He just came for no reason, met me, spoke to me and left. Did heaven arrange this “coincidence”? Maybe. He seems like a messenger from heaven to me. It’s very strange. Everytime when I have decided to give up my doctorate, he will appear. It’s like he’s haunting me. Hahaha… This is not the first time already. I had some thoughts about the doctorate again. He told me that when I am lost and do not succeed, all my siblings will follow suit, cos I am the eldest. Stress eh? Indeed it is. But it’s very true. He can be a fortune teller already. Hahaha… And my failure is draining my hubby’s energy too :( He’s very chim too. There are certain things from him which I dun understand. Maybe I will get him when I get there some how. Everything happens for a reason. Is there coincidence? Hmm…

His family is pretty similar to mine, with 3 gals and 1 boy, except he’s the eldest and my brother is the youngest. My family’s attendance in one of the workshop for psychology of vision has given him and his sisters the courage to bring their parents for the workshop too. His dad and mum finally patched up after a couple of decades of staying apart. Wow!

Millionaire Mind.

2007-11-24T07:12:00.000+08:00

Let me write this while it's still fresh in my mind. I only have 5 minutes :) 5 and Just 5. hahaha... Does it rhyme? ;)

This weekend, or rather it started from yesterday, I am attending a seminar called "The Millionaire Mind Intensive" by T. Harv. The co-trainer is Robert ***. Oops... I have forgotten the first name :P T. Harv is the master trainer and he's really really really good! The seminar is 9am-11pm on Friday, 9am-11pm on Saturday, and 8am-7pm on Sunday. Wow! Isn't it? It's really super intensive! Initially, I wanna sell away my ticket cos I gotta meet my friend for dinner last nite, meet the dateline for the reorganisation of my business partners, see my gynae this morning, and attend another training in the afternoon, and attend Shichida class with Aloysius tomorrow. We missed the last Shichida class already, you see... I value Shichida class very much :). I truly believe in the weekly class will have an impact on Aloysius' brain development in the long run.

Ok ok, let me share what I have learnt yesterday. First and foremost, managing our finances is very important if we want to have more money. And money management is a HABIT! Habit habit habit... This is not the first time I heard about HABIT lately in order to make more money. When I attended a training session by Arthur two weeks ago, I already heard from him that the amount of money we earn gotta do with our own HABITS! Wow... T. Harv strengthened that again yesterday. In order to cultivate the "habit" of savings, it's best to start from young. The amount of money we have does not matter at all. What it matters is the actions and the habits. We can even start from a dollar! We can cultivate this habit in our kids! I have decided that I wanna cultivate money management in Aloysius :) He will then have a headstart, unlike me.

For the practical part of money management, we get 6 transparent containers and label them. Put in real money and watch them grow by the days. They will be my money magnets. If we have $1000, go to the atm and withdraw that amount and put them into the respective containers.

Ok, I gotta go... oops... it's 15 minutes already :P Will talk more about the containers in more details when I got time :) If you want your child to be richer than you, start cultivating them from young! And I do believe in that... I saw some primary school kids attending the seminar with their parents. Wah... Next time, I will bring Aloysius for such seminars when he's older than 3 years old, but younger than 6 years old. kekeke...

Busy bee...

2007-11-20T12:58:00.000+08:00

I have not written my blog for almost a month now. Gosh… Time flies, isn’t it? I have been very busy with Aloysius and my biz. I haven’t got much time to sit down and write.

What happened for the past few weeks? Well, I have traveled to KL and Penang for biz. The system in WBG is being revamped. Feeling responsible and the excitement of the new system, I traveled a little, and had meetings with my consumers and other partners. Arthur Yap from Penang has joined WBG. He’s already a multi, multi, multi, multi, millionaire, and chose to join Nicholas Chia, CEO of WBG. He joined cos Nicholas told him that he wants to be number 1 in Asia. Hmm… In order to be able to succeed, we gotta be with successful people rite? I also want to be in company that is going to be number 1 :) I knew about Arthur when I was with Omegatrend. Arthur was very loyal and he was with Omegatrend for 11 years, till the company was bought over by another company from New Zealand. He has a very interesting history. He is a lawyer by profession. He told a small group of us that when he was pursuing his bar council in UK, he was selected to go to US to represent UK. Wow… a high flyer indeed. He was already a millionaire at the age of 26. However, he was in debt of RM3million at the age of 27. Gosh! I find him very amazing… He now stays in a house on a cliff at Batu Ferringgi which is valued at RM40million! The land area is 1.3 acres! I cannot imagine how big that is. He has RM9million in cash in the bank on top of his assets. My brother was with Omegatrend a few years ago, and met Arthur a few times then. Being a little skeptical of Arthur’s background, I confirmed some of the things about Arthur with him. kekeke… A person like him should have far sight and superb business acumen, isn’t it? I am interested to know why he chose to join WBG. Are you? ;)

I would say the month of November is a month of major changes and decisions for me. Ok, enough about me for now… :) I might be bringing Aloysius to Penang, Langkawi and Kedah end of December :). We haven’t made the bookings yet though.

Lately, Aloysius is showing some output of what he has learnt at Julia Gabriel :). He knows most of the songs that are sang in class. He’s into songs now and will sing “E-I-E-I-O” when we sang Old MacDonald song. He’s at a stage of knowing what he wants, but still exploring how to communicate to us what he wants. At times, he gets very frustrated.

Last week, I fed Aloysius elephant brand organic jasmine thai brown rice and he had bad constipation. He ate the brown rice with some vegetables for lunch, and refused to eat from dinner. The next day, he’s not even interested in his milk, which he loves a lot. When we were preparing to go out for his JG party, he was very listless. He walked around and dunno what to do. He bent his body and walked. He refused to let me hug him, but hugged me from my back :( He was never like that before. Something was wrong. He did not remove his bowel the previous nite, which he usually does. He kept crying on and off for no reason. I guessed probably he’s having indigestion and tummy ache. I applied ru-yi oil for him and gave him half a capsule of digeston. Digeston is a natural product made from 5 types of ginger, distributed by a multi-level marketing company called E-Excel. After I applied the oil and fed him digeston, he allowed me to carry and hug him. He felt better after a while and could play with his toys. After slightly more than an hour, he passed motion, and followed by diarrhoaea. Very, very smelly ones… He could not eat much for about 5 days. He only likes his oatmeal. Luckily his discomforts were gone by evening, cos we were traveling to KL early next morning. Today, his appetite returned :) He ate his porridge. After his porridge, he had a slice of bread too.

We went to KL the last weekend and stayed at Ascott again :). It was a pleasant stay. With the tight schedule, we managed to shop at KLCC for a few hours before we started our journey back to Singapore. We decided not to rush back for Aloysius’ Shichida’s class.

Insomnia?

2007-10-28T06:29:00.000+08:00

I cannot sleep well these few nites. I gotta make a decision if I wanna continue with my PhD dissertation. After months of thinking and weeks of sleepless nites, I have decided to withdraw my registration for the PhD. It’s draining my energy and wealth. If I were to go to UK for a month to finish it up, I will be under lots of stress and it will not be good for the babies. I am very tired of it all. Yes, I came this far. I had also lost “friends” when I had 50% decided to give it up, even the very good “friends”. Well, all the experiences that I had along the way had made me a stronger person. I even have a professor who is "afraid" that I will be his colleague next time and was terribly good to me and kept in contact with me whenever there's opportunity. hahaha... I am a person who does not make a lot of friends easily, and I will certainly value the friendships with my friends when I have decided to have them as my friends. I was very sad about that initially. I gotta accept it afterall, cos I cannot change their values and their perceptions, can I? Have I been naive in this realistic world? Maybe... Putting these aside... My friends will still be my friends in my heart :).

Hmm… probably when I have more time and a stable huge income, I will think about the experimental results that I have. Probably will publish them in prestigious international journal ;) I have very interesting experimental results ok… Not many will do them cos it’s costly that involved lots of hard work and skills too… and also involved environmental and safety issues… *wink* *wink* Many will be interested in my work cos it’s real, not stimulation by the super computers :).

Finally...

2007-10-24T19:06:00.000+08:00

Finally finally… finally got a chance to sit down in front of my laptop in peace and have some time for myself to write something. Aloysius simply loves my laptop. And nowadays, he’s climbing up the dining table. This morning, he had two bites of the portugese egg tart which my sis bought from Macau. I climbed onto the dining table again while I went to the toilet. But he’s so cute and was babbling to me like telling me that it tasted so good. Hahaha…

Let me recall anything interesting for the past weeks. We went to Sentosa with 7 other toddlers of Aloysius’ age. It was a very fun and interesting day out. When we reached there, 4 toddlers decided to have their nap. It was great for the mommies to have a chat while they were sleeping :). We had our lunch at Rasa Sentosa, then play time for them at the hotel’s play area. The trip ended with a swim in the pool. Not many photos were captured, cos everyone was busy handling their active toddlers.

We also went to Botanical Gardens with Gabrielle and Xander. We found a big, shady area and had a picnic there. I brought some fruits and bread for the toddlers. I found bread without preservatives, sugar and salt from cold storage :). Aloysius loves bread very much. Perhaps, he wants something with a different texture from his normal oatmeal and porridge. He had two slices of the bread. The toddlers also enjoyed chasing and kicking after the ball down a slope. And the mommies also had a great morning workout chasing after them. The toddlers decided to fall asleep at the same time after all the playing :). It was a great morning out at the Botanical Garden. We had lunch at Crystal Jade Palace at Takashimaya after that, then books shopping at Kinokuniya. 2 other toddlers joined in the Kinokuniya shopping. Hmm… it’s indeed not easy to select books with the toddlers around. I only bought 1 storybook for Aloysius, and 2 books on health for myself. Kekeke… I have been waiting for sale to get these health books. One is “What your doctor don’t know about nutritional medicine that might be killing you”, and “Seven pillars of health”. These books are written by qualified doctors, and they are quite an interesting read. If I have the time, maybe I will write about the tips I get from these books as I read along :).

Oh yes, last week, I went for the 13^th week detailed scan :). Both babies are growing very well and about the same size. I think for twin pregnancy, it’s very important to monitor the size of both babies. One cannot be too big than the other. Their development are on par with each other, and in line with the predicted EDD.

Update on my magic hands.

2007-10-13T13:05:00.001+08:00

Ever since I was amazed at my magic hands, I will use them at night when Aloysius is sleeping, unless I fell asleep before he does. Hahaha… Sometimes, I just lie beside him and fall asleep before him. I realized that in order for the magic hands to work, I gotta concentrate with lots of love.

hmm... interesting, isn't it? :)

Magic hands! Magic hands?

2007-10-09T10:59:00.000+08:00

Do you believe in the power of our own hands? I just read about this last nite from one of Shichida's book. It's about the healing power of our hands. I started to practice what he illustrated in the book. The results is amazing! I have a very happy and smiley Aloysius today. I cannot help but stop whatever I was doing to capture some pictures. He woke up with smiles and laughters to start our day. In this picture, he was eating his sweetcorn, listening to FM92.4, smiling and laughing to me. At some lively music, he was even "dancing". He's such a darling...

What did I do?
Well, I just put my right hand on his head and said that he's a very happy boy and will wake up smiling at us to start the day. He will be very happy for the rest of the day :) And at the same time, imagine his happy self.
hmm... probably I will try it for his potty training. kekeke...
From the book, there's also some know-how to "cure" fevers, asthma, cough, pain, etc. etc. It's a very interesting read, but not easy to digest cos it's new to me, and not really something scientific. For kids, most of the ailments is due to weak heart, so we can just put our right hand at the heart for the "healing session".

Okie dokie... that's all for now... gonna prepare for JG class already.

Happy...

2007-10-03T20:44:00.001+08:00

I am so happy now :) I just received an email from a good friend that her “auntie” came without any medications. She was on medications for her menses to come monthly since her secondary school days. She tried TCM, and many other treatments before. She’s reaching the big 3 very very soon. And she has been trying to conceive for a few years already. I shared my knowledge and experience in health and the products which I have with her, monitor her diet a little through emails (cos she’s in far away America), gave her some pointers here and there, and she followed. She successfully went through a full juicing program that I gave her, and even extended the program on her own :) She’s very determined and disciplined, isn’t it? Initially, I was very worried that she might not succeed in following through the program, cos she’s so far away, and communication is limited. My sis also helped to encourage her along the way. I am very happy that her health is improving :) Loads of baby dusts to her :) May the stork visit her soon…

Follow up at KKH.

2007-10-03T20:40:00.001+08:00

Last Monday, I brought him for a follow-up at KKH regarding his umbilical hernia which started when he was about 3 months old. We took a bus there. He was a very good boy on the bus ride. When we reached the clinic, he was happily running around everywhere when we were waiting for his turn. Luckily, we did not have to wait too long. Lucky mommy here had the chance to exercise again, and was so tired after chasing him. In the consultation room, my little explorer continued with his exploration. The doctor offered him to take a sweet from a cup, but he wanted the whole cup. Hahaha… He was so at ease with the doctor. He had a go at the mouse and the phone at the doctor’s desk. Then he got the nurse to carry him to wash his hands at the basin. When the doctor was checking on him, he was given two stickers, one on each hand. He was busy exploring his hands and deciding which one to peel off first. Hahaha…

After seeing doc, making payment, we went home by bus. It was a crowded bus. Aloysius had to sit on my lap and I forbid him to move around. After a while, he fell asleep and continued his nap when we reached home :)

Term break...

2007-10-01T13:30:00.000+08:00

Last weekend was the term break for Shichida Method class. We went to JB for the weekend. Aloysius was happy exploring the switches on the amplifier, and making sure the fans were switched on. He would go in front of the switch and go “bao bao”, wanting us to carry him to reach the switch to switch on the fans. He also enjoyed playing on the piano.

We wanted to bring him to the waterfall at Kota Tinggi. However, after our lunch at about 3pm, we realized that it’s not really worth going since the entrance fee is pretty high. It’s RM9 per person. Maybe next time we will make a trip there in the morning. Instead, we went to the waterfall at Pulai. Aloysius was very skeptical of the cold water. We only stayed there for a while since there’s lots of mosquitoes there.

Aloysius surprised us with more “words”. He’s “talking” non-stop now. He started to talk and bend his body. Hahaha… It’s really cute to watch him “talk” now. His most recent vocabulary is “nana” for banana. He also knows “no no no no no…” with signing no with his fingers. Hahaha…

2007-09-25T16:46:00.000+08:00

It has been some time since I blog. I have been tired and busy. I am getting breathless easily. I can even get breathless after chasing after Aloysius to wear his diaper. I hope he will be off the diapers soon. Any tips?

Aloysius has been “talking” even more now. We reckon, when he really starts the real talking, he will go on and on. Hahaha… Nowadays, he will “talk” to anyone when outside, or when someone is having a conversation or on the phone. I realized that he understands commands now. He actually knows the names of most of the things around him, just that he dunno how to say them out.

Yesterday, Aloysius wanted me to switch on his favourite Japanese music CD. I could not find the CD. Then I told him that I dunno where it was. I asked him to find it for me, else I could not play it for him. He knew where it was! He pointed to the gap underneath the DVD player and started to “talk” to me. I trusted him, so I lift up the player and there was his favourite CD. He was happy after I switched on the CD for him.

Aloysius loves grapes, prunes, dragonfruit, and apples now. His all time favourite is oatmeal! He will have oatmeal for breakfast everyday. Sometimes during the weekend, I will cook oatmeal for him for lunch and dinner too. I will add some blended black sesame seeds, walnut and almond to his oatmeal. It will have a nice, nutty flavour which he loves.

For books, he loves the book “I love you, Little Mouse” which we bought when we were in Perth. It’s a series of 3 books. They are very nice books which I love too. It’s about love and growing up. I will put this book on the bed. Whenever I ask “Where is I love you, Little Mouse?”, he will certainly climb up the bed and take out the book to flip. I used to read to him at bedtime, but now, I can only let him flip to whichever page he likes and read. He knows where are the bees and the butterflies. I will tell him the names of the animals in the book. Another series of books which he loves are the first books by Eric Carle. There are 4 books and they are in a box. He will try to take them all out and start to flip them. Sometimes, as he flips, I will read to him what he’s looking at. After all the flipping, he will try to put the books back into the box properly. These are the books for the bedroom. There’s a small little board book which he will flip and point during his meal times. He will point and will want us to read the single words to him. Usually, he will flip to the page with fan first, cos it’s his favourite object.

He will ask me for his flashcards everyday now. I am glad that he loves the flashcards. Sometimes, I find it difficult to keep up with his pace. I gotta work harder on that to keep up. Sometimes, when I get breathless and tired, I dun have the energy to do the flashcards sessions for him :( But I will still try to have at least one session of at least 500 cards a day.

Today, it’s the first time he did not really enjoy the music session at JG. He was very sticky to me and wanted me to hug him. Before that, during the playground time, he refused to return a bunch of toy grapes. The teacher snatched it from him. He was not happy about that. Maybe that’s why he was not happy even during music time. I hope he will return the toys on his own next time.

2007-09-14T09:34:00.001+08:00

I was reading the book <<从胎儿开始的育儿法>> by Prof. Shichida. I think this is a very good book for a parent who wanna have some ideas on ways of nurturing and disciplining a child, and parents who are facing some challenges during the process of nurturing their child. I highly recommend this book.

There’s a section which mention that if we are having difficulty with a child, we will need to sit down and look at ourselves, and not the child. Parents will need to change first in order to change the children. Hmm… Not many people will think nor believe of that though. Mommy needs to change and the children will automatically change.

A mother’s words are of utmost importance to a child, and will affect him in many ways, especially the emotional and social development. The child’s eagerness to learn and explore will also be affected by the mother’s words. The child need words of encouragement and praises for the little that he accomplishes. Small accomplishment with praises will gather his confidence in exploring further. Hmm… I better be very careful and conscious on what I say to Aloysius. Sometimes, he just got on my nerves :p Most of the time, I will just walk away from him. I will always remember deep in my head, never ever say any negatives things about his existence, never say that mommy dun want him (not even as a joke!).

Falling in Love with Aloysius (II)

2007-09-13T12:51:00.000+08:00

I am falling in love more deeply with my dear Aloysius. He has been so cute these few days. He brought lots of happiness and laughter to everyone around him. This morning, I need to sleep more. But Aloysius woke up first. He got down the bed and went to his por-por for his milk feed. He finally knows how to nod his head for the things he wants. I asked him “Do you want your milk?” He nodded his head. Then I told him get down the bed and go out to look for por-por :) He did what I told him immediately. After he had his milk, he came to the room and climbed on the bed and lie on top of me. Then down the bed again and off he went. He repeated this a few times till I woke up. So sweet of him, isn’t it? Then he had a short nap. He woke up after an hour. I tried to pat him to sleep a little while more. I thought he fell asleep already. Suddenly, he started giggling when I was about to close my eyes. Hahaha… He pretended to fall asleep, but cannot help it and started giggling.

Today, he started to be interested in the cupboards with breakables! I gave him a walnut and he walked away happily. He went to the hi-fi system. I did not bother about him fiddling with the buttons there, which he frequently does. He was actually trying to switch on his favourite Japanese songs CD. He actually managed to switch off the radio, and switched on his CD on his own! Wow! Maybe he has observed how I did it usually. His por-por dunno how to switch on the CD from the radio even, and Aloysius did it!

My Aloysius is so cute. He will take his san-ee’s ear piece and start babbling at the mouth piece. If you mention the word “flashcards”, he will automatically walk to where his flashcards are and point, then to his high-chair and says “bao bao”. If I bring the bag of cards to the room, he will run to the room, climb on my bed, and sit at the usual position.

Falling in Love with Aloysius (I)

2007-09-11T18:50:00.000+08:00

After seeing Aloysius having nothing much to do at home, I have decided to continue his Julia Gabriel lessons every Tues and Thurs. Today was the first lesson for the term. It was a full class. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the lesson very much. During washing of hands session, I just use wet tissue to wipe for him instead of carrying him to wash in the toilet. For the past few days, when I was very tired and resting in bed, he would play on his own and walk around. Sometimes, he seems to be walking around the house aimlessly. I think I gotta cherish his time more. He’s growing up so fast, and his desire for learning is so strong, and I should not be closing an eye on that.