Baby vs Puppy

Terelle is besotted with this little Shih Tzu from a pet shop in Marine Parade.

Every chance she gets, she will rush headlong into the shop and stand in front of her little glass cage, making funny faces, jumping around and going "Awwwww...Coochie coochie coo".

She has christened the dog Leelo, tells me she wants to take her home and implores me to buy her. I tell her i have no money, and that she should go ask Daddy.

This is the conversation that ensued tonight.

T: Daddeeeee, i love Leelo...can u puhleaze buy her for me?

D: How much does Leelo cost?

T: Err one thousand...errrr five hundred and sixty...no eighty

(Im behind hubby, silently mouthing the words for her, she definitely doesnt know the concept of how much money this is)

D: Do you know how much money that is?

T: Not alot! You have money right?

D: Haha...how about we sell Baby away, then we can use that money to buy Leelo? What do you think?

*Terelle is stumped for words. You can literally see the cogs in her brain whirring furiously*

D: Yup if we sell baby away, he will go live with someone else, but they will give us money so that you can buy Leelo. You want that?

*More silence as she ponders the consequences of that option*

And then the clincher...

T: How bout you sell him away when he is grown up!

Hubby and I almost rolled off our chairs laughing...her loyalty to her brother only extends after he is all grown and has exhausted his usefulness of entertaining her!

Great insight on a kids' thoughts...hahaha...

Love letter

In case you cant read this, it says:

Dear Wei Pyn

My number 67570794

Love Terelle

I. Am. Floored

My daughter, who is all of 5, has just given her phone number to a boy.

She is kinda besotted with this boy from her class. A skinny little ball of energy named Wei Pyn.

Im not sure if she truly understands the meaning of love or perhaps she simply enjoys his company very much, because Wei Pyn, from what i can tell from my sneaky observations in school, is a spontaneous, fun loving and mischevious little boy.

He has many characteristics that are similar to my mafia queen and they are inseparable in class, always playing and chatting happily and even poking fun at their classmates together.

And so for the past few weeks, its been 'Wei Pyn this, Wei Pyn that". She tells me she wants to marry Wei Pyn when she grows up. When i say she's too young to be thinking about marriage, she retorts, "No not now Mummy, when Im big like you, I will marry Wei Pyn."

*Smacks forhead in disbelief*

He loves anything to do with Transformers and she brings Transformers stickers to school for him. Heck she even smuggles Thane's Transformers figurines into her schoolbag when he's not looking, to give them to Wei Pyn!

What disloyalty to her brother! haha!

And sometimes i catch her smiling to herself and when i ask her why, she tells me with a shy smile and a twinkle in her eye that she dreamt Wei Pyn got down on his knees and asked her to marry him.

Oh myGod.

The best part is, Wei Pyn actually called her that night, after she gave him the note in school.


The conversation went as follows:


Terelle: Hello? *giggle giggle* Hello? You want to talk to my brother?


*passes phone to Thane*


Thane: HAR-LOW??!! HAR-LOW!!?? WHO ARE YOU?


*snatches the phone back*


Terelle: My brother is very funny right? *giggle giggle* OK... ok... see you tomorrow! Bye!



And she comes up to me and says,"Mummy how come Wei Pyn sounds so squeaky on the phone? He sounds like a mouse!"


That's cos his voice hasnt broken yet!? That's cos both of you are 5 years old!!?


That's him, that's my supposed future son-in-law.

Sigh...should i start fretting now?

My baby's Five

My precious firstborn turns 5 today.

We spent the morning having a leisurely macD's breakfast while Thane was in class.

Trying to glam it up with my sunnies

My little rock chick!

And after school, Hubby left work early to join us for an ice cream treat

Terelle is growing up to be a real little lady, and i am so proud of her for achieving many milestones so far.

Physically she can:


1) Swim a short distance now!

She has made such great progress in swimming and i am very impressed with her coach.

I would never have been able to achieve what her coach has managed to get her to do in just 2 short months.

She started as a whimpering scardey cat, sitting and crying at the side of the pool, refusing to put her head into the water. Something the coach said then made sense to her. (and me too! I thought it was a great quote to coax kids!)

He said that it was ok to be scared but its not ok to cry. Surprisingly she started to trust him after that, and tried her darndest to follow his instructions, even if it meant coming way out of her comfort zone.

Here she is at one of her 1st few lessons, still a little fearful of the water

And then, Coach managed to get her to dunk her head in to blow bubbles

Her confidence bolstered, she began to clown around in the water

And recently, she has managed to swim a short distance, unassisted!!

Well done babe! Mummy hopes you will continue to perfect your strokes and have total confidence in the water!



2) She can run about 1km without stopping for a break.

All my training sessions on wednesdays while Thane is in school have paid off!

Mummy secretly hopes you will follow in my footsteps and take up running. You can do it anytime, anywhere, it keeps you fit and in shape and best of all its free!

Here she is outrunning Shukai, the son of one of my good friends - He is so pooped he gives up and flops to the ground without managing to catch her!

I think you can keep your shotgun Daddy, our girl will be able to outrun any boy chasing her in the future! Haha...



Intellectually she can:

1) Read simple books now!


Thanks to Alice who introduced this method used by mothers who homeschool their kids, Terelle's confidence grew and before i knew it, she could recognize a lot more new words.


I dont know exactly how it happened, but suddenly she was able to read complete sentences and whenever she encountered new words, she would at least attempt to try to sound it out. Previously she would just give up whenever she was stuck.


To further encourage her to read more, I came up with this reading chart. For every book that she reads, she will earn a sticker. Every 5 stickers can be exchanged for a treat - ice cream, kinder bueno, gummies, chocolates...she names it, she gets it!


Close friends know that im such a stickler when it comes to the "No Junk" policy for my kids, so all these treats are like Christmas coming early to her and she totally relishes them.


And it works! She gets a real kick out of actually being able to read an entire book by herself and then sticking each sticker in its respective box. Of course, the books that i choose are simple readers as ive realised that the more difficult ones tend to discourage her and put her off.


No matter, babe! We'll get there together soon!

My cheeky gal would still sometimes play the fool and say something ridiculous whenever she didnt know a word, collapsing in fits of giggles at my admonishings. But generally her reading has improved by leaps and bounds and i am glad.


For a period of time i considered sending her for extra classes to teach her how to read!
Phew! Money saved!


Her current favourite books are those by Dr Seuss as his wacky humor totally appeals to her goofball character. She will read them over and over again and keep laughing at the bizzare and silly parts in the book, and then repeat those parts to her brother and insist that he laugh too.


2) Write simple words all by herself!


Everyday i find a jumble of unrelated words written in a myraid of colors on the easel

It is pretty fun reading new "quotes of the day" on the easel everyday

And for mothers' day, she made this card for me all by herself!

She didnt ask for any help to spell out the words

It's a simple card, with simple words, but im proud, so proud!

3) Play simple tunes on the piano


We are blessed with an awesome teacher who has a knack for getting her to practise her pieces.

On those "off" weeks when no amount of cajoling, threatening, begging or scolding on my part can get her to even go near the piano, one lesson at Aunty P's and she's so motivated, she will practise on her own everyday for the following week.


I have no idea what P does or says to her but it works! And Terelle simply loves her piano lessons now.


And I am so glad i dont have to scream like a banshee at her everyday and pull my hair out over her practising the piano!

Playing one of her latest pieces

Socially she:

1) Empathizes and read feelings very well


When im teaching or upset or busy and flustered, she knows how to stay out of my way until ive calmed down. And then she will give me a hug and tell me that she loves me. Or she will draw something funny or write me a card to cheer me up.

I can never stay angry with her for long!


And if i scold or scream at her, i always feel terrible straight after, cos she is generally so well behaved (albeit a little mischievious and cheeky) and easy to manage, it doesnt seem fair to her to be yelled at by Mummy.


I thank God for her understanding, if not for her, I wouldnt be able to achieve half of the things I do everyday!



2) Obeys orders and is pretty easy to discipline


She knows her daily routine very well and will usually do as she is told without any complaints. The tricky part is not to let her get too tired. When she's tired, all protocol is thrown out of the window and she starts to whine, cry and basically melt down.


If things really get out of hand, all i have to do is look at her sternly and tell her firmly that i want the hysterics stopped at the count of three. She will usually stop right after she hears me start on "one".


Other than that, if she is well rested, she is a joy to have around and i love hanging out with her as she is interactive and fun to be with!




3) Is still a little shy among adults


I am training her to greet her elders loudly and clearly whenever she meets them, but so far she manages only feeble little squeaks of acknowledgement.


Well, we're still working on it. Some days she greets people that we meet loudly and cheerfully while other days she still hides shyly behind me and squeaks incoherantly.

Sigh...no matter! Im sure we'll get there too!

So Happy Birthday babe! May you always stay my happy, healthy and spunky little girl!

Discpline and Reward

We came up with this chart to motivate Terelle to behave.


She gets a tick for good behavior and a cross whenever she misbehaves. Moreover there was a period of time when she began to cry whenever we dropped her off at school and would cling to me like a limpet, all the while wailing pitifully.



No idea what brought on that period of regression, we put it down to Thane starting to become more endearing with his antics and captivating everyone's attention, so she had no choice but to come up with something to attract our attention as well.



Thank God she didnt regress in other ways like bed wetting or fighting sleep though! That would have been major headache for me!

So for each day that she did not cry, she would get a tick, and for the days that she did, she would get a cross.

If she reached the end of the chart of crosses, she would be "rewarded" with a lollipop.

And if she completed the chart of ticks, she would get this neat contraption called the Ezy Roller.

We found this in an obscure sports shop and all of us were fascinated by it. The Ezy-Roller is a three-wheel cart without pedals, a chain, or batteries. Instead it glides forward by moving your feet and knowing our daredevil daughter, she would definitely be game to try anything that involves high speed action outdoors.

So it was obvious what she was gunning for, and whenever she slipped up and started crying in school, she was genuinely appalled at her behaviour and kept vowing not to repeat her hysterics the next day.

The chart was also good in controlling errant behaviour. I would simply have to go, "Do u want a tick or a cross?" and any attempt at a misdemeanour would be quelled immediately. Haha!

And so, after a couple of months, Terelle finally earned her Ezy Roller, adding this to the sporting activities that we do together during our special time on Wednesdays!

She is a speed demon, just like her mama! haha...

Patience

This is what we got up to, on one of those nites when the small one went to bed early.

Terelle honing her patience by lining the dominos up one by one

half an hour later....all done!

And down they fall...a few minor glitches though...

This would NEVER have been possible if the small guy was awake, he is so eager (or rather destructive) he will topple short rows of only 3 dominos!

Updates

Terelle and I have 2 special days in the week, when we do stuff together during a precious 2 hr window when Thane is in school.

Since his school is at East Coast, we will go for a morning run together, starting from the old Big Splash...

looping around the Lighthouse...

and then turning back!

We will then treat ourselves to a hearty breakfast at one of the eateries near Thane's school, all the while taking goofy pics and/or read some books and do some activity books.

Other days we will take either her scooter or car along with us and have some giddy, giggly fun rolling down slopes and racing along the jogging tracks.

Here she is, hurtling down the slopes at breakneck speed!

And then she has to carry the car back up - its a good workout for her arms and legs too!

Some days we venture further, over to Parkway Parade for a nice breakfast and our favourite longan/pineapple drink at the hawker centre.

And then its off to the playground near the library for some fun, while we wait for the library to open its doors.

We will then spend the next hour in the library, reading together and choosing new books to be savoured at home.

Baby i just want you to know that Mummy really treasures these times spent with you, and i hope that you enjoy yourself as much as i do!

Mourning Jack

It was the day when torrential rains poured over our little island. And there was widespread flooding, the most well known one being in the Bukit Timah area.

I was in Bedok, far far away from Bukit Timah. I was supposed to be safe.

And yet...
Let's just say i was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I had just finished my workout at Tampines and was going to pick Terelle up from school. One of her classmate's mum called to say that her car couldnt start and asked if i could pick her gal up as well.
Sure, not a problem, i cheerfully answered, as i slowly negotiated the car through the blinding rain towards the school.

I picked the girls up, dropped Terelle's friend back home and headed off towards our own home.

Almost every car had their hazard lights on and everyone was going at a snail's pace. I had never seen such heavy rainfall before, much less drive through one, so i was exceptionally careful.

I saw some flooding ahead of me and estimated that the water would come up to about half tyre. But smaller cars than mine were cruising easily through the pool of water so i figured it was alright.

Never in my wildest dreams did i expect to stall right smack in the middle of the flashflood!

You always see other drivers standing forlornly by the side of the road, beside their vehicle that had just broken down, and u go "tsk tsk so cham!"
But you never ever expect it to happen to you.
When it does you are just flabbergasted and lost.

The next few minutes were pretty surreal.

I tried to restart the car but it sputtered and died, with all its indicator lights flashing.
Other motorists started to horn at us from the back.
Terelle jumped up and down excitedly, asking me loads of questions and yelling at me to "Quickly start the car and MOVE, mummy! We are blocking the road!"

At that moment my mind was a blank. I didnt know what to do but to call hubby, who was thousands of miles away in Beijing.
Sudden call at 3pm on a Thursday afternoon from wife, i wouldnt hazard a guess over the million and one bleak thoughts that could have flashed through his mind at that time.

After calling for the tow truck, i ushered Terelle out of the car and into the pouring rain cos i was afraid the cars behind wouldnt be able to see us and plough into us. I had to carry her through the flood, cos i didnt want her to get wet, and my shoes and pants were soaked through.

As we stood by the road side, huddled together under the umbrella, and waited for the tow truck (and the liews to come save terelle and bring her home 1st), i saw the floodwaters slowly receed.

10minutes later and the road was back to normal.

Sigh...if only i had stayed a little longer at the gym, if only i had driven a little slower, if only i had parked at Terelle's school and waited for the rain to abate, then i wouldnt have been caught in the flashflood.

See? Normal road conditions by the time the tow truck arrived

Poor Jack being towed after his watery death

I'd never thought ill feel so strongly over the car.

Poor poor Jack (Our family's affectionate name for the car) with his flashy rims, sporty exterior and customized racing stripe, is now lifeless with his lungs (engine) full of water in a dirty workshop. Jack who has accompanied us on many a happy family outing, who has drawn countless appreciative glances on the roads and who is a luxury to maneuver is dead, dead, dead.

And he is barely 2 years old!

As im writing this, im not even sure if we'll ever see Jack again, the initial prognosis from the mechanic is grim.

I feel like im mourning the loss of a dear friend. *sob*

Toilet Humor

For reasons unbeknownst to me, children absolutely love words associated with waste material. Toilet humor cracks them up to the point that tears stream from their eyes and they are almost rolling on the floor shrieking with laughter.

Terelle bombards me with a barrage of toilet humor every single day.

She changes the words of the nursery rhymes that i try to sing to thane.


"Old Macdonald had a POOT POOT, E-I-E-I-O

And on his farm he had some SHEE SHEE, E-I-E-I-O! Wahahahhahah!"


When we play make believe with her soft toys, she names them POOT POOT, SHEE SHEE or UNDERPANTS, all the while howling with laughter.

If any of the above words so happen to feature in our conversations, she latches onto them immediately and says them over and over again, giggling non stop.

And whenever i fetch her from school, i always find her holding court with her subjects in rapt attention as she spews words such as "CHICKEN UNDERPANTS!", "POO POO POOEY!", SHEE SHEEEEEEEEEE!"
And everyone will burst out laughing hysterically.

Charming...

Mafia antics again

I drove up to the pick up point where all the kids would be waiting for their parents to fetch them.

She was nowhere to be found.

Two other mummies couldnt locate their kids too so the teachers freed up an area for us to park our cars.

I found Terelle in the playground, together with the two missing girls, She was holding court with a rapt audience, commanding everyone to watch as she gleefully dripped water from her wet hanky over her head.

Her uniform was drenched with sweat, her cheeks were flushed from mischief and exertion and her hair was soaking wet.
Her friends were in stitches. She was encouraged by their boisterous cheers.

I caught hold of her just as she was about to scoot off to the basin to get more water to pour over her head.

I let fly vitriol, she was unfazed.
I demanded to know who did she follow to the playground, she looked guilty.

So she was the one who instigated everyone to run off to the playground instead of waiting at the pick up point!
They must have snuck off when the teachers in charge at the pick up point weren't looking, cos it can get pretty chaotic during dismissal time.

Just at that moment, 2 teachers came down and started to ask the children to identify who ran off to the playground first.
Fortunately for her, one of her friends pointed the finger at another girl who was totally indignant at the accusation.
The teacher was really furious and gave all the perpetrators a good tongue lashing.

The ring leader was still totally unrepentant until i sat her down in the car and told her in all seriousness that if she were to do that again, Mummy would not be able to find her and take her home. Then she would have to spend the night ALL ALONE in the dark dark school.

Her eyes watered, she looked genuinely petrified.
"I promise i will wait for you at the pick up point, Mummy. I wont run away again."

Score!

However, just barely a minute later,
"But can i ask my friends to play catching with me at the pick up point?"

Ugh...a leopard can never change its spots...

If tomorrow never comes

Sometimes late at night

I lie awake and watch her sleeping

She's lost in peaceful dreams and i turn out the lights and lay there in the dark

And a thought crosses my mind

If i never wake in the morning

Would she ever doubt the way i feel about her in my heart



If tomorrow never comes

Would she know how much i love her

Did i try in every way to show her everyday

She's my only one

And if my time on earth were through

And she must face this world without me

Is the love i gave her in the past gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes


My best friend made me watch a youtube video of a talented singer crooning this ballad today. This song never fails to leave me with a lump in my throat.

And even though you have made me so incensed yet again throughout the day, with your constant whining, refusal to obey instructions and general mischief, tonight i will hug you a little tighter, give you a few more kisses and vow to be more tolerant, patient and indulgent towards your antics tomorrow.

To my special firstborn, i hope you know that no matter what, Mummy loves you, more than you can ever imagine.

Gong Gong is...

We were in the car and Terelle was commenting that Baby was a good boy cos he didnt want to nurse for once and sat quietly in his car seat.

T: Baby is a good boy!

Me: And what about you?

T: Me? Im a good girl

M: And mummy?

T: Mummy is a good girl

M: Daddy?

T: Daddy is a good boy

M: What about YiYi?

T: Yiyi is a good girl

M: And Gong Gong?

T: *slight pause* Gong Gong is a good old man!

Mafia Boss

My daughter is a mafia boss.


Her form teacher took me aside today and commented that she has incited her friends, on many occasions, to create mischief.

She will come up will silly antics when everyone is doing serious work and divert her classmates' attention from their tasks at hand.

She will entice her friends to join her in a splashing good time at the sinks in the toilet, only running back to class in fits of giggles when the teacher detects their absence and comes to look for them 10min later.

She will say silly things and contort her face and leave everyone in hysterics every opportunity she gets.


As a result, her teacher tells me that many a time, she has been made to stay back to complete her work. She would grudgingly sit at her desk and do her coloring/phonics/chinese strokes/craft while her friends play with toys or troop off to the playground.

Her teacher says she is beginning to disregard her authority and I am concerned.



I have noticed that my daughter has a natural ability to influence the kids around her.

Whenever she is playing with a toy or doing something, the other kids invariably end up being drawn towards her and they will all crowd around to see what she is doing.

She will say something ridiculous and all her cronies will repeat it after her and all of them will collapse in fits of laughter.

She takes a sticker and places it on her forehead and everyone else does the same. She proclaims that she's an "Ah-neh!" and everyone else chants it after her.

She entices her friends in games of police and thief, with her invariably being the flight footed thief that no one ever manages to catch.


And yet, despite all the tomfoolery she creates, she is amazingly protective of her friends.

She makes it her responsibility to watch over her quieter and meeker classmates, making sure they have their snack, that their water bottle is in the right place, that their name tag is pinned properly.

When they report to school everyday, all the kids' temperature are taken and their mouths and hands are checked for spots before they are allowed into class. A teacher is always on hand to record their temperatures beside their names on the class register.
And mafia boss is always there telling the teacher exactly who's who in the queue of kids waiting to get their temperature recorded.

After everyone is checked, she will wait at the staircase and round everyone up before holding the meeker kids' hands and ushering them up to class.

Anyone and everyone seems to know Terelle.
Hubby has witnessed her giving permission to some kids (not from her class!) to go to the playground after school.

I have seen her playing with the older K1 and K2 kids while waiting for me to arrive to fetch her home.

And the clincher:
I didnt send and fetch her to school for the whole week that i was sick. When hubby went to fetch her, he overheard a kid running up to her and asking her if her mummy was still sick.
It was akin to you showing concern over the wellbeing of your boss' family and scoring points at the same time.

To which came her flippant reply," Yes yes she is ok now" before dismissing the minion with a wave of her hand.

*gasp* The entire school seems to know i was sick, through her...

Surreal...totally surreal...

We had better steer her in the right direction before she leads everyone astray. I dont want to be responsible for other kids' errant behavior.

Ugh.

Bento Binge

Went to Daiso a couple of days ago and chanced upon these adorable little containers that could be used to hold different kinds of food to be packed in a bento. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes - penguins, hearts, butterflies, flowers...and had lovely pastel hues.

I gleefully bought a couple back home, thinking i could pack a little bento set for Terelle on the days she has to stay back in school for enrichment classes.

On the said day, out came the cute little silicon cups and in went a cheese sandwich (cut into 3 bite sized pieces to fit 3 little cups), some raisins, some colorful cornflakes and a marshmellow.

Terelle was bug eyed with anticipation when she saw what I had packed that day. She was profuse with her "i love you Mummy"s and "Thank you so much mummy"s and lavished me with hugs and kisses and kept declaring that I was the "best mummy in the whole world".

Here she is, not able to take her eyes off the bento box, all the way to the car

Thank you baby, for reminding me that it doesnt take alot to make you happy and that simple things can earn me the stripes of a pretty awesome mum in your eyes.

Flu bug

She has succumbed. After 7 long months of being in the pink of health, she has finally succumbed to a flu bug. In fact Im surprised that she hasnt fallen sick in such a long time! *touch wood!!!*

It all started with a little, intermittent cough that slowly developed into a runny nose and watery eyes. But that was as bad as it got. She skipped school for a day and i knocked her out with medicine from the GP. After an extremely long nap of 4.5hrs, she was 80% back to normal.

I am so relieved and thank God that her health is so much better now. Never again would i want a repeat of how sick she was when Baby Bone was just a month old. (Read my post on "Things will only get better")

This is a cinch. This doesnt make me a wreck. This I can handle.

Speechless

Terelle has no qualms about voicing her displeasure and will unabashedly comment on something that offends her sensibilities or for my following case in point, her senses.

We get into the lift which is jam packed with people. Someone in there has a serious case of body odour. Terelle clamps her hand over her nose and mouth and blatantly declares, "Mummy it stinks! Someone STIIIIIINNNKS!"

Some guy turns beet red and shifts uncomfortably. The others either stifle muffled giggles or look horrified.

And me? Im mortified. I keep trying to silence her with "shhhhhs ok that's enough" but nothing will stop her.


"Mummy its very smelly, very smelly! I cant stand it!"

She makes a big show of pinching her nose and breathing through her mouth.

I wish the ground would open up and swallow me.


As soon as we reach our floor, i bolt. She follows me nonchalantly, all the while continuing her tirade.


"Wah that was really stinky. Right mummy? so stinky...tsk tsk..."


I try to tell her that its not nice to say things like that in front of strangers and that she should exercise restraint and not make known her comments until later. To which came her swift reply.

"But why Mummy? When Daddy farts at home, we all say its smelly rite?"

.......

Memories

It just occured to me that when she is older, Terelle will probably not remember much of the past 4 years of her life and neither will Thane. And I havent been really conscientious about keeping all these memories for them.

So...ive decided to be more meticulous in storing all these memories. Memories that meant something to me, and hopefully did mean something to them.

There we were, taking a rare bus ride to school. Why rare u ask? Because it has become the norm that hubby leaves the car with me and i ferry Terelle to school every day. Just so happened that he sent the car in for a thorough wash today and we had to find our own way to school.

But boy was it a treat for her!

Look we're so high up Mummy! Look at this tree Mummy! Wah i can see a doggie! Eek why are there so many dirty black things on the bus stop's roof? Wah that man has so little hair! Mummy look at that bright blue motorcycle! Mummy this is so fun!

Funny how a simple bus ride can transform everyday objects into fascinating subjects of conversation. She is totally blase when she is sitting in the car everyday, either silently staring out of the window or when she is in a more upbeat mood, singing along to her favourite songs.

I want to remember this particular day, because i know i will forget, she will forget. I want to remember how we made up silly stories about the people going on about their everyday lives, how we sang funny made up songs and how we posed for goofy photos. I want to remember how a 30min bus ride became magical through a 4yo's eyes.

As a SAHM, there are days when i really wish i could throw in the towel and leave them behind to go to work, cos work will offer definite respite from the mindless "admininstrative" things i have to go through everyday - bathing, feeding, changing, dealing with whines and tantrums, discipline, putting them to sleep, ferrying them around...the list goes on.

But today, just today, i want to remember the precious, happy moments that i got to spend with my Terelle, cos i was looking after her full time.

Mummy Im Scared...

Me: Good nite baby!
T: Good nite Mummy!
Me: See you tomorrow!
T: See you tomorrow Mummy!
Me: I Love you baby!
T: I love you Mummy!

(Silence for awhile)

T: Mummy im going to face the other side. If you're scared when you're sleeping, just call me then ill face you ok?

Me: (almost falling off the bed in laughter) ok!

Im amused because she is totally afraid of the dark. If she is half asleeep and i sneak off, 2 minutes later ill hear her plaintive bleating emanating down the stairs. If I hold off any longer going up to her, she will come running helter-skelter down the stairs as if there is a monster in her wake.

And yes, she is sleeping with us once again in our room. Her in the baby's cot (?!) and baby in between us. No amount of cajoling/promised treats/pretty princessy bedsheets/threats can make her go back to her own room. 3 rooms upstairs and all 4 of us squished in the master bedroom...sigh....

I used to get all worked up and angry with her whenever she started yelling for us and we have to lie beside her and play dead for a good half an hour till she falls asleep. Until hubby gently pointed out that maybe she has a good reason for being scared and that we should never doubt what goes on in her mind, did i then relent and willingly "sentence" myself to lying in the dark beside her every night, silently willing her to quickly fall asleep. (At least now its better, she lets me surf the net beside her so im not bored to tears..)

I guess ill just have to wait till Baby Bone is old enough to sleep in his own bed then ill shove them both out of our room and back to their own room across the landing!

Whatever...

I was telling Terelle to make sure she washes her hands before she had her dinner. She was glued to the tv and turned me a deaf ear.

After repeatedly asking her to wash her hands and demanding if she heard me, she suddenly turned to face me, gave me a dismissive roll of her eyes and said in a "i-cant-be-bothered-with-you" voice, "Whatever..."

At that moment, i felt really hurt. Where did she learn how to use that word? And in that context and tone??? I expected that kind of rebuttal to come from an angsty, rebellious teenager and not an innocent 4 year old?! Oh my goodness, are we fast forwarding to 10 years later?

After some discussion with hubby, we concluded that maybe she picked it up from us, cos we did use the word "whatever" on each other before, especially during arguments or quarrels. Guess we better watch what we say from now on!

Luckily it was just a harmless word, ill be terribly embarassed and angry if she were to start spouting profanities when we are outside. But that, i know for sure, she would not have picked up from me....

Public holiday

Its a public holiday and im having tuition in the morning. Mornings usually involve me trying to get Terelle ready for school. Today im of course, in no hurry to get anything done.

Im blithely teaching my student at the dining table. Terelle senses something is different about today. She saunters over and asks, "Why am i not going to school today, Mummy?"

"Cos its a public holiday."

"What's a public holiday?"

"Its a day when everyone does not work."

"But daddy is working." (Hubby's big boss is in town so he has to be at an important meeting)

"Daddy is special, he has to go to the office. Ok be good, go watch your cartoon, after Mummy has finished tuition, ill bring you out okie?"

"Yay! We're going out! I love you Mummy!"

She quietly settles down to watch tv for the next 45min. After my lesson, i decide that since its a cloudy and cool day, we could head down to the Botanic Gardens to have a picnic and feed the fishes. So I start packing some picnic things to take along.

"Are we going now Mummy? Are we??"

"Yes, after you finish your lunch."

"Oh man!" (Accompanied by a dramatic hanging of her head and exasperated shaking of her hands - This girl deserves an Oscar for her theatrics)

I call my parents and tell them of my plans for the day, to which they reply that its too hot to go to the gardens now and that i should make the kids take their nap 1st and then head down in the evening.

I agree (against my better judgement) and feed my by now extremely bored girl her lunch.

After lunch she dejectedly lies on the playmat in the living room and declares in a forlorn voice, "Its so boring at home, i want to go out Mummy, im so bored"

"ok ok we'll go out after your nap ok? Gong Gong and Por Por says its too hot to go out now. All the fishes are hiding deep in the pond, they will not come to the surface cos the sun will fry them"

"oh fry them? Then they will die? ok then ill sleep now, we go later when the sun is not so hot right?"

"yes i promise we will go later"

And so she happily skips off to bed. An hour and a half later, she jumps out of bed with a broad grin and chirps,"Are we going out now? Are we are we??"

By then it has started to rain cats and dogs and i was silently cursing myself for not following my instinct just now and just gone when the weather was fine.

"We have to wait for the rain to stop. Anyway Baby Bone is still sleeping. We will go when he wakes up ok?"

"oh its raining so the fishes will get wet then they wont come to the surface?"

"Hahahha the fishes are already wet cos they are living in the water. We will get wet if we go out in the rain. Then we will get sick."

"oh ok we go later"

Seemingly appeased for the time being, she skips off to play with her toys for a whole of 5 min before announcing again,"Im bored mummy! BORED! I dont want to stay at home. I know! Lets go to the children's playground!! The one that is nearby?"

"Aunty Yiling says its closed for renovation."

"Oh man!" (Dramatic hanging of head and wringing of hands again)

Her head suddenly jerks up and she implores longingly

"What about the other indoor children's playgrounds? You can drive there!"

"Its a public holiday baby, they will be very crowded"

"Oh man!" (This time she throws herself onto the mat and lies there with a woebegone look on her face)

"We will still go to the botanic gardens to feed the fish, just wait for the rain to stop ok?"


She doesnt answer me. I think she is angry with me. Haha...

After half an hour, the rain slows to a drizzle so i decide to take a risk and venture out. Terelle can hardly contain her excitement as i bundle both the kids into the car.

"Are we going to feed the fish now Mummy? Are we?"

"yes, yes. Pray hard its not raining at the botanic gardens ok?"

"Ok....god please dont rain at the botanic gardens please please" After which she settles back in her seat and happily starts singing her songs.

It was raining throughout our entire journey to the gardens and i was half expecting to have to deal with her disappointment at not being able to feed the fish after all. Miraculously, right after i parked the car, the rain stopped and we all headed straight for the Symphony lake.

As she was standing there gleefully throwing bread into the pond (bread sponsored by Gong Gong and Por Por who trooped all the way to Katong to buy scraps from a bakery), she turned to me and gave me a disdainful look.

"At last im finally having fun Mummy!"

"...?? ...??!!"

Since when did it become my fault??? Hahahah...

Best Baby in the Whole World!!!

Thane is a very serious baby, i mean it.

Coaxing a smile out of him is like coaxing blood out of a rock. And that leaves most of our friends feeling extremely stupid cos no matter what silly antics they try, he will simply stare at them with an impassive face and a furrowed brow, as if to say "Hey just quit it, dont you know you look really silly and its not funny?"

Yet only Terelle can make him squeal and double over with laughter. We can say the exact same things, do the exact same actions as her, only to be met with that deprecating, pokerfaced stare.

Tonight, she was monkey-ing around as usual and singing "Ke Ren Lai" at the top of her lungs, peeking out at Thane from behind the dining chair from time to time. He seemed to find that hilarious and started laughing hysterically. That fuelled more clowning around from my dear girl and he was laughing so hard that he was spewing bread all over the place. (He was eating bread at that time)

This "Ke Ren Lai" episode went on for a good 15min, after which both kids were totally tired out so we started our bedtime routines. (hahah what a good way to get them to go to sleep!!)

As hubby was putting on a pair of long pants for Terelle and i was nursing Thane, she suddenly exclaimed "Baby is the best baby in the whole wide world!!"

Our hearts melted. I guess the best thing that we did for her was to give her a sibling.

But once he gets a little older, that's when the real mayhem will start.