Drama in the morning

Didi came down with a shirt crumpled like wearing something from a wastepaper basket. I ordered him to go change to the ironed one, which he just REFUSED to wear as it's too big for his liking. wtf man! Not like he could swim in it, why is he sooooo damn fussy one??? I barked my order and it's NOT to be challenged and he sulkingly changed his shirt, fighting back tears in a grumpy face.

Then, on the way to the car, suddenly he screamed he felt something sharp inside one of his shoes and he believed it must be a beetle. meimei and I cajoled him to knock it out of the shoe then but he retorted no, the beetle would be in the car and how freaky that is, the beetle will always be in the car (and anytime could jump up to eat you up, I presume?)

So I asked him what then? Is he planning to hop into the school with just 1 foot with a shoe? All the way to school dismissal? He said nooo... but he had no plans to put his hand to ensure there's really nothing in the shoe or knock the bugger out from it either. *roll eyes*

I told him not to worry, even if the beetle falls out into the car, it would die eventually anyway cos there's no food inside here. He didn't buy my story. 

At a red light stop, he asked me to put my hand into his smelly shoe. I checked and looked in, and told him there was NOTHING in it. He challenged me "I DARE YOU! Go ahead and put your hand inside" what the heckaroo!! I said nooooo, it's not that I dare not put my hand in fearing a beetle inside, but I don't want to put my hand into your smelly shoe! 

Eventually, he accepted that there wasn't any beetle. I teased him saying it was just his imagination. Meimei joined along and said.. yada yada.. your imaginary beetle... hehe..

After the this drama episode 1 was over, then, the next second..

"Ouch! There's a red ant biting my arm!!!"

*piak sound* heard.

Meimei: THERE! I also not scared to beat it, why you so scared? (dem funny with her child girly tone yet sounding so serious and garang) By that time I was giggling to tears liao.

He said "you dunno laa, the ant suck my blood ok." "aiyoh, dear, ants don't suck blood laa, it likes sugar, remember?" "You dunno laa, my blood so sweet it likes my blood" *roll eyes*

I said ants unlike mosquitoes, they don't have those pointy needle to poke inside into our blood vein laa woi. Ding dong ding dong....Then, he complained, you dunno laa, I just don't like its saliva ok. And it's VERY uncomfortable when the ant bites la.*slap forehead* OK la, OK la.. you win!

The kind of mornings I need to go through.

Another one succumb to wearing glasses.

Last 2 weekends ago, we went for a full eye check up, me and didi, at the Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital.

It was for sometime that I wondered didi needed glasses, though he kept saying he could see well and clear. I took him to check his eyesight in a couple of optician shops, but not trusting them fully, since, well, logically they have vested interest in their business.

An opportunity arise when hubs' cousin told us she has a friend who is taking a degree course in becoming an eye doctor and need to do a number of eye check ups for free for this final year to graduate. I asked her to contact him for us and make the appointments.

When I was there, I learned that you don't really need to know anyone to get these free eye check ups. You can just call its number (I'm sure you will look it up if you are interested) and make a booking. There are quite a few of their students who needs to conduct 100 checks each in their final years of their course.

I took didi and meimei there myself, hubs was in somewhere else for the whole day whilst korkor was in school. Both didi and I were checked separately by 2 handsome cute young boys but no fret, we were being watched by their supervisors and the supervisor would reconfirm their checks on us as well.

The check up was pretty complete, with several tests on its pressure, health, power, color blindness, 3D and lots of others. It took 1 hour and more.

At the end of it, I was told didi needed glasses. Big sigh.

So we went scouting around a few opticians and settled back on our usual supplier. His quote for the myopia control lens is RM360, compared to others which ranges from 400-600.

Well, didi is now a 4-eye-dude. How sad.

Didi is 10

Didi's 10th birthday was here and celebrated with a small little affair.. That's the first decade of his life gone.  He's at this stage where he would loooooovvvvveeeee to pick on meimei for every single little thing she does or does not do. Argh!! Help me oh Lord!

He's also at this age where his rebellious temper is more evident and sometimes I must admit, I am very afraid. I am trying to enforce more positive vibes unto him and using less of the punishments and scoldings, but he JUST drives me up the wall!

It's so damn challenging with this kid. I mean, korkor and meimei have their own weaknesses too, but at least they are very obedient. With didi, I felt like he had no choice but to listen to me at this stage, but when that day comes, he doesn't need to depend on me anymore, he wouldn't care! OMG! Why am I so negative now? Oh, God, please .... HELP ME!

One day, I told my hubs, he really ought to look at his own fatherly role. Sometimes, I just feel he's an exact replica of him, father and son, both so stubborn, pessimistic, insensitive. However, as I ponder deeper, this is like, it's exactly where he's picking up all these from! I reminded hubs again and again and again, to mind his language and to check how he treats him. As far as I know, all 3 have so different characters (though kor kor and meimei are more similar) and we shouldn't be treating them in the same manner, though the love is still equal among the 3 of them.

For all I know, didi might just be one of some rare conditions, which I hadn't been checking on, and I don't intend to check on as well. In any case, it's only putting a label on his forehead and then start treating him differently. Why don't we put aside this labeling step and start treating him differently right now? I always feel explaining in length and in detail to him every thing that he does wrong is working, though really really tiring and exhausting.

Anyway, he's really quite a child still. I hope this bickering stage would end as he ages, and still be in good terms with his only brother and sister he has in his life. That's all I hope for... for now.

Love him lots and Happy Birthday, my child.

Didi's first taekwondo exam

He insisted that he didn't like gymnastics and wanted to pull out from it after last year's stint.

After several options, he made do with taekwondo lessons (as it's compulsory from the school that they join  a society and a uniformed club from year 3 onwards).

I didn't interfere with this punches and kicks classes until one day, he told me the teacher says he could go for the exam to advance from white belt to yellow belt. I had to pay RM50 for it and RM70 for the uniform. All through the year, he was wearing just his school's PE shirt for those workouts.

He was so excited to go for the exam, even though I was suggesting to him to just skip it laa... ($.$)

But he was adamant and even woke up bright and early on that Sat morning, all ready for school. Oh well, since he was so persistent and it was the FIRST TIME he did things so quick and prompt! If only he's like this in the mornings during schooldays!

So we bought him the uniform on the spot, change to it, kick and punch for about 2 mins (or maybe 5?) and then go home! wtf! (wtf stands for world taekwondo federation, ok!)

It was the first time I saw him doing some wtf moves and it's just too cute! All of them little ones are.

Slow and steady won't win the race!

How do you train a child to work faster?

Dammit! It's so nerve-wrecking to see didi moving and doing things soooooo slowwwwwwwlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Especially in the mornings when he prepares for school. It takes forever for him to get done. What, he just needs to pee, brush his teeth, get himself out from the pyjamas go into shower and get dressed! In that time he does all those "stints", I would have prepared breakfast, snacks, tie up meimei's hair into a bum and get changed myself!

I have tried coaxing him, encouraging him nicely, to yelling my head off at him and totally putting my hands up in surrender mode, but he still remains nonchalant and at his comfortable slow, steady, snail pace. Every other tasks too. Except snatching korkor's packet drink in his hand or a gadget with games apps.

I have already incorporated a "fine" system, where by certain time he doesn't appear in his school uniform, it would be RM1. Then, by 7.20am, he has to be at the door else another RM1. By the rate I"m counting, I have collected 5 bucks already. Ish! This little guy is making me crazy already!

Didi at 9yo

Look at the set of teeth! Notice something in there?

There was this front tooth which took a darn long time to come out and when it did, like almost 2 years, this is it??!

Not so hansem anymore, huh? :(

Convocation pictures with didi

This evening had been a very fruitful one with some quality hours of learning time.

In the midst of it all, didi asked me why I not become a teacher. In return, I asked him back if he thinks I'm being a good teacher. He said yes which sent me straight to the moon. I do think we are all learning much from each other, me being a more patient one at that.

After I was done with meimei and korkor, I was left with some BM learning time with didi alone. The lesson on its page had something to do with ijazah, pensyarah and some pictures of university learning and convocation day.

I translated the word ijazah to "degree" and asked him if he knows what degree is. He nodded his head and said it's the temperature you take with a thermometer. Haha! He totally knocked me off my chair as I wasn't thinking in that line at all. So I told him he's right, but degree has another meaning and went on to explain what that means bla bla bla...

Interestingly, this went on with me telling the story of how I, once upon a time ago, wore the mortar board and the robe too, and was conferred by the Sultan of something. He asked what a sultan is and I said the king (which I know it's not too accurate, but wth). I showed him our old photos taken on the conferring day and gee, how much we both have changed! Didi and I were surprised to see how papa looked like at that time. Really had a wonderful time together, combining BM lessons and our very own past history. Bet he remembers today's lesson much much more.

I took a walk down memory lane again, browsing at those photos with my old friends, the heart feeling so much warmth and happiness having gone through such memorable and sweet time together. Oh, my life has really been great all the while.

Share some of your angpow money, man!

There are times I often wonder what will become of me when I grow old?

Que sera sera, whatever will be will be...

I gave up earning my own keep to bring up the kids full time. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it after all. What happens when I don't have any income? What happens when my hubs leave me for someone else? *gasp*

I am becoming more and more dependent indeed. Scary!

Can I rely on the kids when they become independent? The other day, I tried coaxing them to share 3 bucks from their angpow money also damn tough. Didi had a whopping 753 bucks while meimei had 604! They are so lucky! And I can't even get 3 bucks each from them??!! What the... "sang jei la, sang jei la...??"

In the end, didi agreed to give away 3 bucks, for me and hubs to share. After I objected, he finally gave me 2 while he took another RM1 from his piggybank to give to his papa making it RM2 as well. Ain't he fair? And I had thought I would have higher privilege than hubs?!

Meimei cried as she didn't want to split with her angpow money and in the end, rather fork out RM10 from her piggybank to give me! I ask her why RM10 when I wanted only RM3, she said she had no 1 dollar notes in the piggy. Then after probing deeper, yun-loi, she doesn't want to part with the new crisp dollar angpow notes. wtf!

After that, hubs complained to didi that meimei gave me 10 bucks, and what did he do? He went to the piggy to take another 10 dollar note to give his dad. *BIG QUESTION MARK* what is this???

He said I have 10 bucks from meimei so it's only fair that papa has 10 too.

So, from this exercise, do you think these 2 brats are reliable when they are working adults while we, the frail, lazy, poor old parents are hungry and need money to go eat wanton mee?

Didi 9th birthday

The day after we came back from CNY holidays at Ipoh, it was didi's 9th birthday. My sis-inlaw and her family were here staying with us for a night enroute Singapore.

I told the kids this year, we are not going to have any birthday presents for a change. Instead we would be having a birthday cake within the family.

Korkor negotiated for a stayover with a couple of friends for HIS birthday and my reply to him was -.-

So, this birthday didi had this delicious fruit cake, my absolute favorite.



We went for a lunch with both hubs' siblings and their spouses and kid.

I just love simple celebrations like these. No extravaganza please. Definitely not in front of a crowd singing the birthday song in english and cantonese in a public area. *gawk*

Happy 9th birthday, didi!

(that lucky fella, he has extra RM100 as angpow from his popo&kongkong and his gugu as birthday gift. Both meimei and korkor surely will remember to ask for their share when it comes to their turns! Whatever happened to my ruling, no presents??)

Tough week for us.

See the 3 huge tears on his cheeks? Can't see? Well, you certainly need glasses like I do then.

This week had been so tough for us both. I found out on Wed he had some red writings on his Buku Catatan. Red is not good!

So, he had not finished his homework, disturb his classmate and punished to write "I cannot disturb my classmate" (in chinese la) 10 times, ting-xie all worsened, and... the lackadaisical attitude of his? Just makes me go crazyyyyy!!!!

At the end of the day, tucking him to sleep, we hugged and prayed. Pray he will turn out ok.

My boy, how my heart pained each time you misbehaved and I had to punish you for that.

:(

Didi cycling on 2 wheels finally.

Didi did it! Cycling without the training wheels. On his own. 2 wheels. Precisely on 4 Sept 2011. Roughly 8+ yo. Wow!

Not very impressive, eh? Then again, who cares! Not like if he learned to do it at 3 then he's a genius. I just let him take his time and get on it when he's ready and feeling confident. A little bit of encouragement helped, and when he managed it, I asked him how he felt and he said he felt great. heh!

From our KLCC park venture last weekend, his training wheel has been annoying him as it was very flimsy. The next Sunday, I had his permission to take them off and dug out the tools to do the job. It was rather fun with him watching me working on it, like I'm so talented liddat! *ahem*

His ear's infection returned that weekend hotel stay and the doctor advised him not to swim for at least a month if possible, to avoid further infections as he's prone to that from his first one not too long ago. From then on, whenever the kids go for a swim, he would be playing badminton with me or his papa. I also realized he's getting much better playing than the last time (which seemed to be ages ago anyway). At least the RM30 fees I'm paying for his badminton 1 hour class a week in school pays off!

Seems like we should spend more time with them to parks for cycling activities and badminton games!

Punished with a dollar fine!

Didi and meimei got it from me the other evening, for not going to bed till I came back from meeting at about 10+. I get worked up when the kids go to bed late, as I believe they really ought to sleep, they need those 8 hours minimum amount of sleep everyday. It's the basic to living healthy, absorbing what they learn in school and being happy. That's my principle.

The next day, I was worked up again when they were, still, eating their dinner after an hour or more.

By then, I was so fed up with all these admonishments, threats, warnings and blackmailings. I gave them the ultimatum - 30 mins after dinner served, no matter what time they starts to eat, and they yet to finish their meal, they would get it from me!

By that time, didi was worried sick when he couldn't eat the piece of chicken cleanly. He said to me, "ok la, you cane me lak, don't fine me, ok?"

I said no, I rather fine you (from his monthly pocket money), I felt more pain when I use the cane on you. He was puzzled. Why, he asked. I told him of course mah, his flesh comes from me, his blood running from mine, sure I felt painful when I cane la.

And then he tried his luck. You also feel painful wudd.. when I have pocket money slashed like that. I defended myself saying how would I, when the money would still remain in my bag? *wink*

And he had no choice. I was surprised he rather ask for that punishment rather than being 1 buck poorer. Bulls eye! I hit where it hurts him most!

Playing chinese chess with grandparents

Didi is in love with the chinese chess, always pestering y-po or y-koong to play game after game with him whenever they are in town.

And just watching them playing together, my dad or mom entertaining him and vice versa, hearing giggles and laughter together, brings precious joy to me.

Another tooth dropped.

On that birthday dinner night, didi had another dropped tooth! And he looks soooo toothless now! Look at him!

The other gigi taring is still yet to be seen sprouting out, but I heard the longest timeframe you can give a new tooth to appear is 1.5 years. So, I think by the end of the year, if it's not coming out yet, I have to do something! Or maybe even earlier.

With these teeth set, I have to cut all his food up to biteable sizes again, just like when he was a baby. Memories!