Monday, September 25, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Celebrating Mathena
A busy weekend ahead!
We'll have our favourite Kong2 and Ee-ee Audrey over Thursday afternoon. Then we'll have a happy time catching up and showing them our little world. As we'll have visitors, I will get a break from cooking A LOT too, yippee! How cool is that?
Thurs: Morning tea with ANG family, Avo: Guests arrive
Friday: Letitia skip school, Mathena has 1hr B'day party
Sat: Singapore ZOO at last (and maybe a car to drive too!), Afternoon & Dinner with WONGs
Sun: Church and Afternoon with cousin
Mon: Suburbia get to know
Tues: Alex watch kids while Sarah goes city-shopping with Ee-ee
Kong2 might get two mornings of tennis if the "new friends" keep up with their promise.
We are all getting excited, the presents are wrapped and fridge are stocked! I am actuall excited to show my family Singapore (the whole 10% of what we know of it?!?)
We'll have our favourite Kong2 and Ee-ee Audrey over Thursday afternoon. Then we'll have a happy time catching up and showing them our little world. As we'll have visitors, I will get a break from cooking A LOT too, yippee! How cool is that?
Thurs: Morning tea with ANG family, Avo: Guests arrive
Friday: Letitia skip school, Mathena has 1hr B'day party
Sat: Singapore ZOO at last (and maybe a car to drive too!), Afternoon & Dinner with WONGs
Sun: Church and Afternoon with cousin
Mon: Suburbia get to know
Tues: Alex watch kids while Sarah goes city-shopping with Ee-ee
Kong2 might get two mornings of tennis if the "new friends" keep up with their promise.
We are all getting excited, the presents are wrapped and fridge are stocked! I am actuall excited to show my family Singapore (the whole 10% of what we know of it?!?)
Monday, September 18, 2006
Of Loos and Flushes
I never saw this coming but Mathena is now phobic with public toilets.
Singapore is a very gizmo-ey city. The newer and more upmarket areas have nicely self regulating toilets which are sensor activated. The toilets flushes at intervals as well as when one person is "finished" and stands up! What drama can come from that? Is this the solution to a cleaner city?
First we line up (you line up EVERYWHERE in Singapore), then we approached a cubicle with trepidation. While helping undress Mathena, we are bound to hear the toilet flushed just before she's lifted onto the seat. That's the first shock!
Then as I am waiting with her in the cubicle (thus casting shadows on the sensor), she gets another flush WHILE on the seat!!! She screams and freaks out! Then immediately after that, whatever "urges" little Mathena had is all gone and she's climbing onto me to go..
See: Funny article re KL toilets
The toilets here looks ordinary but FEELS like this monster!
Singapore is a very gizmo-ey city. The newer and more upmarket areas have nicely self regulating toilets which are sensor activated. The toilets flushes at intervals as well as when one person is "finished" and stands up! What drama can come from that? Is this the solution to a cleaner city?
First we line up (you line up EVERYWHERE in Singapore), then we approached a cubicle with trepidation. While helping undress Mathena, we are bound to hear the toilet flushed just before she's lifted onto the seat. That's the first shock!
Then as I am waiting with her in the cubicle (thus casting shadows on the sensor), she gets another flush WHILE on the seat!!! She screams and freaks out! Then immediately after that, whatever "urges" little Mathena had is all gone and she's climbing onto me to go..
See: Funny article re KL toilets
The toilets here looks ordinary but FEELS like this monster!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Bankers are too busy for LONG emails
This is news to me..Alex told me that he had to be retrain to write short and succinct emails!!
It should go something like this?
Can't help but make fun of this idea!
It should go something like this?
To: Bankers
From: IT Team
Re:
Content:
M'sage too long
Call 1800 000 000
C'puter stuff, upgrade, more info?
"Click" on Site
From: IT Team
Re:
Content:
M'sage too long
Call 1800 000 000
C'puter stuff, upgrade, more info?
"Click" on Site
Can't help but make fun of this idea!
Monday, September 11, 2006
It's NOT about you!
Over the weekend I experience the DREADED "me, myself & I" society close up and personal. There's reminder to "smile to the whole world" in tv ads as well as documentary campaigns of "Excellence in Service" running to remind people to work/live beyond themselves. I struggle to see the effectiveness!
We attended a "Family Fun Day" organised by Alex's work on Saturday. There we GODZILLIONS of people everywhere. From the hours 3-6pm, there were all sort of activities run for kids eg face painting, games, FREE caricature drawings, FREE crafts for kids, jumping castles, kids putting etc. Guess which line was the longest? The caricature drawing. I sympathise with the poor artist. The arts and crafts were all finished in a jiffy with some families doing a keychain for the 'mom, dad, grandma, aunty, uncle" etc. Such activities would normally cost up to $5-$10 per pop.
We lined up for ages to have our face painted (the two girls) and I was able to observe how selfish the adults as well as the kids were. We had 3 adults in front of us...okay, there's no "rule" that it's kids only, BUT, the least these BIG guys can do it to "hurry up" and have something simple, so the little ones do not have to wait too long. I saw absolutely no shame or remorse in the eyes of these adults. They were totally unaware of the young babies behind them (lots younger than my kids) sweltering in the heat while these grown-ups have their "BODY" paints artfully crafted out. The kids all just wanted a little butterfly or fairy painted on their small faces.
Oh yes, I noticed that the entire NATION enjoys lining up!
Then we moved to have a go at the jumping castles. Yeah, a whole 1 min of it was enough to push Mathena (a tough cookie in our family) to tears. I made a point to warn the bigger kids to be aware of the little ones in the castle. I made a loud announcement to the boys who was using the jumping castle as a launchpad to skyrocket them to space. They all looked at me as if to say, "So? Am I suppose to care?". There were no parents around, no adults to comment or even control these kids. The volunteer "crew" could only say so much. Mathena could not even hold enough ground to even start jumping and she soon gave up in tears. I took her off.
Why run campaigns on tv to teach the simple "other centreness"? Why does the society have to be reminded that when the IMF people arrive in Singapore, the "whole Nation Smiles"? Loads of reality tv is runned to "capture" those who goes the extra mile in service and excellence so as the people of Singapore works towards better customer service.
How long will this last if it is not implanted in the heart? These people DO NOT have the heart for other people. The only reason they care and when they do is, because they are concerned with what others THINK of them!! All the smartness and education will not count 2 cents if these kids do not GROW up and realise life is NOT revolved around themselves.
None of my kids were ever worse off giving way to people. They DO understand that it's okay loose out, to let others have the win point, to be the underdog! Let's just treat others the way "we want to be treated ourselves"!!
"NOT everything in life is about you!" We struggle as parents to remember this let alone reinforce it on our kids! This shows in how we allow for them to "suffer" and not have every little thing their hearts desire. We also remind them that, as long as someONE is missing out, they too will have miss out! Life goes on, life is NOT fair but we'll be right!
We attended a "Family Fun Day" organised by Alex's work on Saturday. There we GODZILLIONS of people everywhere. From the hours 3-6pm, there were all sort of activities run for kids eg face painting, games, FREE caricature drawings, FREE crafts for kids, jumping castles, kids putting etc. Guess which line was the longest? The caricature drawing. I sympathise with the poor artist. The arts and crafts were all finished in a jiffy with some families doing a keychain for the 'mom, dad, grandma, aunty, uncle" etc. Such activities would normally cost up to $5-$10 per pop.
We lined up for ages to have our face painted (the two girls) and I was able to observe how selfish the adults as well as the kids were. We had 3 adults in front of us...okay, there's no "rule" that it's kids only, BUT, the least these BIG guys can do it to "hurry up" and have something simple, so the little ones do not have to wait too long. I saw absolutely no shame or remorse in the eyes of these adults. They were totally unaware of the young babies behind them (lots younger than my kids) sweltering in the heat while these grown-ups have their "BODY" paints artfully crafted out. The kids all just wanted a little butterfly or fairy painted on their small faces.
Oh yes, I noticed that the entire NATION enjoys lining up!
Then we moved to have a go at the jumping castles. Yeah, a whole 1 min of it was enough to push Mathena (a tough cookie in our family) to tears. I made a point to warn the bigger kids to be aware of the little ones in the castle. I made a loud announcement to the boys who was using the jumping castle as a launchpad to skyrocket them to space. They all looked at me as if to say, "So? Am I suppose to care?". There were no parents around, no adults to comment or even control these kids. The volunteer "crew" could only say so much. Mathena could not even hold enough ground to even start jumping and she soon gave up in tears. I took her off.
Why run campaigns on tv to teach the simple "other centreness"? Why does the society have to be reminded that when the IMF people arrive in Singapore, the "whole Nation Smiles"? Loads of reality tv is runned to "capture" those who goes the extra mile in service and excellence so as the people of Singapore works towards better customer service.
How long will this last if it is not implanted in the heart? These people DO NOT have the heart for other people. The only reason they care and when they do is, because they are concerned with what others THINK of them!! All the smartness and education will not count 2 cents if these kids do not GROW up and realise life is NOT revolved around themselves.
None of my kids were ever worse off giving way to people. They DO understand that it's okay loose out, to let others have the win point, to be the underdog! Let's just treat others the way "we want to be treated ourselves"!!
"NOT everything in life is about you!" We struggle as parents to remember this let alone reinforce it on our kids! This shows in how we allow for them to "suffer" and not have every little thing their hearts desire. We also remind them that, as long as someONE is missing out, they too will have miss out! Life goes on, life is NOT fair but we'll be right!
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
We shed tears..
When we first heard of the tragic death of Steve Irwin, we were shocked. Being the last to check the news as we hardly have the tv on, my news came from Malaysia when my dad rang to inform me. We decided to keep the news from the kids as we were not sure if they would understand.
Today, as I was doing my emails, I opened a song written by Colin Buchanan in tribute to the Crocodile Hunter and Letitia overheard. She soon found out the whole detail and we sat and sobbed out hearts out. Letitia was thinking of how it happened, why it happened and how come the Stingray was so nasty? She was also thinking of the family (2 kids her age) and how they will feel loosing their daddy. Her tears were so tender and sympathetic. Bless her!
Mathena just kept bringing us tissues.
We later prayed and ask GOD to give comfort and direction to this amazing personality and Australian ICON. Yes, we love his antics and his love for the wildlife and yes, we are VERY proud of him.
Today, as I was doing my emails, I opened a song written by Colin Buchanan in tribute to the Crocodile Hunter and Letitia overheard. She soon found out the whole detail and we sat and sobbed out hearts out. Letitia was thinking of how it happened, why it happened and how come the Stingray was so nasty? She was also thinking of the family (2 kids her age) and how they will feel loosing their daddy. Her tears were so tender and sympathetic. Bless her!
Mathena just kept bringing us tissues.
We later prayed and ask GOD to give comfort and direction to this amazing personality and Australian ICON. Yes, we love his antics and his love for the wildlife and yes, we are VERY proud of him.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Sweet Sound to My Ears!
What's the best sound a parent can hope to hear? The sound of a snoring child, fast asleep, peacefully? The sound of chattering children playing happily in their play corner? The sound of someone else's child yelling?!?
This evening, I had one of those moments.
Mathena had to go see a GP for her consistent cough (compliments from her daddy!) which now sounds phlegmy! So after dinner, she had the privilege of staying up a little later to go see her Doctor (the Drs here open till late, yippee!!). When she returned (all sweaty and puffed), she asked for Letitia, who is by now sound asleep after a FULL day of activities. I told her that her "Cheh-cheh is in bed asleep!"
Mathena's sweetest words to my ears were, "Mommy, may I go to sleep too?"
(Sigh! What manners, what sweetness, what joy! Dare I deny her of such a polite request?)
This evening, I had one of those moments.
Mathena had to go see a GP for her consistent cough (compliments from her daddy!) which now sounds phlegmy! So after dinner, she had the privilege of staying up a little later to go see her Doctor (the Drs here open till late, yippee!!). When she returned (all sweaty and puffed), she asked for Letitia, who is by now sound asleep after a FULL day of activities. I told her that her "Cheh-cheh is in bed asleep!"
Mathena's sweetest words to my ears were, "Mommy, may I go to sleep too?"
(Sigh! What manners, what sweetness, what joy! Dare I deny her of such a polite request?)
Monday, September 04, 2006
Happy Teacher's Day
(Letitia's NOT in the pic!)Teachers are under valued everywhere (Australia should have a school holiday as well!) As the society progresses, the role of the parents as the key/main educator to a child decreases with increase in parents working harder and harder. You see, our children gets the best of everything. Both parents work to give the kids a better quality of life. Both parents pay premium for the best care (infant stage), best gyms and music classes (toddler), best training (preschooler) and later the most prestigious and reputable school (school years). Kids are now ushered to schools earlier and earlier in their lives as they are not getting the proper stimulation at home.
One may say, our children lack NOTHING... except maybe the presence of their parents.
Deuteronomy 6:7 (The chapter on the Commandments!)
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
(they are more verses re parenting etc)
In the bible, it was never intended for parents to let other people bring up and train their children. It was only when education was institutionalise that the role of "teaching' was transfered to our educators. This is a whole topic on homeschooling...which there's plenty to read about, if you just google it!
My deepest concern is the basic and general role of a mother/father. The above verse clearly states that to REALLY instill GOD's life into our kids, it's the day to day, hour by hour and repetitive ways that we train into our kids. Putting it into our normal terms, verse 7 seems like the "mommy and daddy moments with our kids", the morning and evening cuddles in bed before we send them off to slumber, the book reading hours we spent talking about the books etc. This is WHEN we instill REAL stuff into our kids. Another words, WE (as parents) are the primary educators of our offsprings during the normal hours of the day.
In the same reality our kids are OUR gifts from God. He gave them to US, not the teachers, not the grandparents, not the education system. When we receive a present, we do not palm it off to someone else thinking that "it'll be better with you"! I do recognise the tough stuff eg. Chinese language, Trigonometry etc that creeps in, needing external reinforcements (tutors) or school teachers. At the first 8 years of our children's life, the key areas are reading, moral, writing, character, maths, virtues, Godliness and comprehension.
Teachers here are VERY stressed. I observed that the parents involvements level is near ZERO. I offered to help out and the school system was taken aback. On days where parents are invited, the parents are happy to stand by the sideline and just watch. The teachers have to ask, before anyone will move towards helping. The teachers have to juggle 20 in a class, yelling, rebuking at the same time, run some sort of routine/schedule. Kids will be kids. They can only do what they like and what they see as FUN! If most kids are not given boundaries and rules at home, can you imagine the havoc they will create in school?!? Who gets to "retrain' them? The poor tired and frustrated teacher.
Where do you stand in this matter? Do you see yourself as the key person bringing up a wholesome Godly child? Do you see yourself "just" as the provider? Have you given up on the journey altogether? Have you appreciated the teacher of your child? How do you practically help this amazing person (who juggles 20 kids for 5 hrs a day!)
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