nothing compares to 2 u 2

well, after much deliberation we decided to jump the gun…..

meet pak mat punto!

….. haha, gotcha!! admit it, for a moment you guys thought that we bought a new car, right?

my dad decided to trade in his sonata for something smaller, it’s a grande punto to be precise. nice compact hatchback or better known as a supermini. we had the chance to test drive the car on sunday. found the handling very good and rather responsive. a continental car feels more solid compared to a japanese or korean make.

even aniq loves to drive it! more pictures here.

gostan… gostan…

redirect

go back here! go back here! shoo!

cak!

anyone has the answer as to why little children get a huge kick out of the classic game of “cak!”?

it is, very funny, according to them.

maybe not so much to the daddies. who were more into, ahem, “deep and serious adult conversation”.

well, they were exchanging ghost stories, actually. hurhur.

the next day, they had more “deep, serious adult conversations”, over their camera tripods… while the mak-maks and anak-anaks were abandoned in the fireworks-crazed crowd to fend for themselves!

where’s diddy? what are those creepy, glowing things floating in the air?

and more importantly, why is mummy carrying someone else?!

the fireworks, of course, were luvly. we are SO going to the fireworks festival next month lor. but, err, you all don’t go eh, so there’ll be more space for us ok, thank you very much.

baby m

this is a week overdue, but congrats to farah for the much-anticipated arrival of mirza shiraz.

wow, only one of you left then, eh? *winks at lyd* lol!

circa jan 06!

anyway, the bub above here has shown signs of displeasure at not wanting to share mummy’s arms with any other little human beings other than him. his lower lip would quiver at the sight, tsk. so tak abang-abang ok?!

just how do they learn this – ‘jealousy’ – anyway?

nevermind. we shall keep ‘brainwashing’ him till he warms up to the idea. must prepare in advance mah. (way, WAY in advance, in this case.) :p

so, anyone else have babies we could borrow?

“just now go school or not?”

it’s been slightly over a week since he started going to ’school’, and so far, his oma has made him ‘ponteng’ twice – once due to bad weather, and the other for waking up late (him, not his oma, hehe).

otherwise, she reports that he looks forward to going in the morning. at the mention of the word ’school’, he’d bring out his backpack and water bottle, and INSIST that someone send him, pronto!

feedback from the teacher is that he’s “coping very well”, and “still busy checking out the toys and materials”, which i take to mean that he’s still menggelitis as ever around the classroom and making a right mess! she also said that he enjoys music lessons and participates willingly, which i take to mean that he likes to boogie-woogie with everyone else during circle time.

the moment he gets home, again according to his oma’s reports, he’d be famished and would gobble down his lunch like he hadn’t eaten for days. his daytime nap pattern has also adjusted such that he gets sleepy earlier at night and falls asleep faster (next day must wake up early to go to school mahhh). which means, more time in the evening for his parents to pursue their own ‘interests’, hehe. (i’m still reading That Book, ok, so no spoilers please!)

mum doesnt really enjoy the sending back and forth, though, cos she can’t handle crossing the roads with two kids and dealing with their squabbles at the same time. i think that’s the downside for now, though she has the helper with her.

times like these when i feel guilty for not being a sahm to do all these… mothering duties myself. well, not that sending him to playgroups or whatever activities i’d want to send him to in future is even necessary in the first place, but well, we all have our own reasons for wanting to do things for our children, even if it means at the expense of others.

selfish lot, aren’t we, working mums? :S

maknye & bapaknye

wahlao eh.

i was trying to google on how to become a certified lactation consultant (yet another one of my whimsical angan-angan ambitions) when i clicked on http://www.family.sg/nursingbaby and…

GAH!!

there greeted my eyes, my once-upon-a-time about-to-explode tummy! anjat gegerl.

hmm, is that a sign or something…? *chuckles*

anyway, continuing my search, there IS an int’l board of lactation consultant which does certification. you’d have to go through a course and then an exam (!) which comprises of 200 multiple choice questions. you’re also required to have a health professional background, but “personal breastfeeding experience, wonderful as it is, does not meet this requirement”.

darn. there goes my chance to be an official Tek-nician or Tek-nical troubleshooter.

haiyah. moving on.

my organisation emails us summaries of articles from various sources on a regular basis, and i sent one of interest to the Bapaknye.

What kids get from with dads: ‘Father functions’ have lasting impact; no need for Mr. Mom

Growing research shows that fathers can have a distinct impact on children beyond that of mothers even though they often spend less time with their children. Although both mothers and fathers can stimulate children through the same psychological processes, mothers can only do so much; fathers have an additional impact because they tend to behave differently with children.

Studies show that:

- Fathers tend to engage kids in more rough-and-tumble play. This fosters their children’s curiosity and teaches their children to regulate emotion and enjoy surprises.
- There is a link between fathers’ warm, stimulating play with their 2-year-olds and better language and cognitive skills in the children a year later, independent of mothers’ behavior. The effect endures into adolescence.
- Fathers who play with toddlers in stimulating and encouraging ways tend to have children with healthier relationships at age 16, surpassing mothers’ effect.
- Fathers tend to shape language development as they typically do not talk down to their children as much as mothers, using larger words. There is a link between fathers who used varied vocabulary with their 2-year-olds, and more advanced speech at age 3, even though the fathers spoke less often to the children.
- Fathering may reduce teen delinquency. Fathers tend to handle misbehavior differently from mothers, stressing real-world consequences.

and this part of the article tickled me: “It was talkative dads who gave the kids an edge.” hehe.

i guess it’s true that mums generally communicate with their kids more (in other words, ‘nag’), while dads are more verbally economical by virtue of being, well, males (unless of course, you’re a lawyer or a national debater or a taxi driver).

having had a father who was not very ‘involved’ or communicative, i’m glad that our generation of daddies has evolved and are taking a more active part in ‘fathering’.

meanwhile, the following is an example of the kind of, erm, lessons the Bapaknye has been imparting to the little one:

“aniq! superman!” —> *stretches arm outwards* —> little one stretches arm outwards

“batman!” —> *makes circular shape with index finger and thumb over eyes* —> little one pinches index finger and thumb over his eyes to the best of his (limited) abilities

“ultraman!” —> *makes a cross with two arms* —> little one gets mixed up with superman

“spiderman!” —> *makes squeezing motion with hands* —> at which point Maknye corrects Bapaknye on his gross misrepresentation of spiderman with proper wrist-flicking action —> little one gives up in confusion

“mickey mouse!” —> *wriggles fingers over head* —> at which point Maknye also gives up —> the little one, finding this doable, wriggles fingers over his head

etc.

i don’t know how much of an ‘edge’ the Bapaknye is giving him, but at least he’d know his comic book heroes, and that, surely, is important to know in the real world. :p

mickey man!

nothing compares 2 U

babycolt will turn four years old next month.

one of its owners is keen on a change. this owner is practical-minded and focused on the economical implications of a new replacement. plus, the issue of space was brought up, in view of potential familial expansion in the future.

the other of its owners isn’t as keen. this owner is sentimental and fiercely loyal to the point of stubbornness. it was their ‘lovechild’, born a week after their wedding, after all!

all those scratches and dents on the exterior, not to mention all those stains of indeterminate nature on the interior, “gives it character”, this owner said. each evokes a story or a memory of four years in the making.

nonetheless, this owner relented and went along to showrooms, grudgingly did some test-drives, watched as complex calculations were done, pooh-poohed the idea some more, but knew that babycolt’s life would have to expire sooner or later. and better to let go now while it still maintains a semblance of dignity than wait till it sputters its last breath.

so, what would be worthy of replacing you, baby…?

hogsmeade weekend

yey! it’s the weekend again! joy!

i’d like a replay of what went on last weekend – but with less calories, please…

…
…

maybe a little story about the food above.

there’s the meats feast on kak m’s birthday at amirah’s grill. yes, meats – beef, lamb, chicken, fish. all devoured in one fell swoop, like true carnivores that we are. the rest had mint sheesha to top it off while i, and my lungs, remained steadfastly smokeless. what a party pooper eh? anyway, it was my night off without the kid, in the company of hawt (and need i say, hawny) women, and the only missing meat was… well, you figure it out.

then there’s the potluck at esah’s, where we (ok not ‘we’ per se, as in izadnhana, but more like ‘we’, as in ‘izad’) were supposed to cook up something exotic, like, erm, fried macaroni (ok, ‘we’ aren’t THAT culinary-inclined). but because we had to bring the little one to kkh that day where he was put on an adrenaline mask (like he doesn’t have enough adrenaline as it is!) for his cough, ‘we’ ended up bringing… murtabak. hey, not just ANY murtabak ok, victory murtabak ok.

right, where was i… ah, the cheesecake which you see up there. loaded with an indecent amount of oreos that could feed a small village. and what more, made with lurvvve at three in the morning. needless to say, it tastes better than it looks! (really. reallly realllyy.)

the hostess also cooked up a wok-full of oglio alio… alio oglio… aglio olio (ok, i can’t for the life of me get this right). pandai, right?? the closest to italian i can make is ’spaghetti d’eau’.

ok and that last intriguing piece, that’s is’ vietnamese springroll, also made with lurvve (i don’t know what time she was up making it though). there’s what i believe is vermicelli, prawns, and vegetables wrapped in rice (?) popiah skin, and eaten with fish sauce. i think. aiyah, i dunno lah, i’m very jakun lor. i only know can eat.

we missed out on the other foods coz we left earlier than the rest of the guests, who were, as usual, ‘rusty stars’.

and that’s that. ps: i starved the rest of the week.

so anywaaay, i think i should stay put this weekend, though i’d be lucky if i get to read even one measly chapter of THE BOOK at home, uninterrupted.

would anyone know of a Muggle Child Repelling Jinx i could use on He-Who-Must-Not-Bug-Anyone-Else-But-Mummy?

scourgify!

ok, so here’s the story.

the other day, i was alone with him in the house, and left him to his own devices for a mere few minutes while i had a quick bath.

and then it had to happen, what you always hear about but scoff at. that rite of passage. what every child would do sooner or later, like something that’s in-built in their DNAs. something they do by instinct, like a spider spinning a web.

yes, he had indeed found the crayons i’d stashed away in some drawer, and had merrily created works of ‘beautiful’ scribbly art along the walls, from his playroom to the study room, and not to forget, the floors, the doors, and that white, white wardrobe of his.

needless to say, i almost lobbed off his ears the vincent van gogh way, but did an edvard munch scream instead!

=O

in my stupefied frame of mind, i tried wiping them off with a wet towel. of course, THAT didn’t work, duh. they’re crayons, for heaven’s sake! in maroon, no less!

in between my vigorous yet futile wiping, i reprimanded him for his unbridled ‘creativity’, and he scuttled off to what is now christened the Naughty Corner in his playroom, where i gave a guilty and remorseful-looking him a sharp stare for a good sixty seconds (or more, i didn’t count – how long would supernanny give for a 19-month-old toddler, anyway?).

later, the Husband called and gave me the solution to the problem, which i had totally forgotten about.

see, many many months ago, when the bub was still a little baby and the idea of him manipulating a piece of crayon to damaging effects was a far-fetched one, i’d asked my cousin sham, how the heck she managed to keep her house superfreaky neat and pristine white despite having not one, but FOUR little tornadoes running around, potentially creating much havoc. then she got all excited as she gushed about this… MAGIC SPONGE that she discovered, which apparently wipes clean all evidence of dirt and grime and yes, crayon on walls. so she cut me a wedge, and i’d stowed it away in the kitchen cupboard, not finding any need for it… well, till now, that is.

and BY GOLLY MISS MOLLY, IT DID WORK! SUPERFREAKY MUCH!

so here i am, about to extol this wondrous piece of domestic item that every household must absolutely have!

immediately after i’d ‘erased’ all his works of art, we went out to ntuc and armed ourselves with more of the stuff. you know… just in case. hehe.

i was told there are a few brands, but i think this is the one that was given to me. (betul tak, sham?)

to prove that we got it right, and that wedge of Magic Sponge which was given to us was not ‘blessed’ by a tok guru or cast with a spell by the wizards of hogswart, we set up an ‘experiment’ by recreating a small-scale version of the devastating scenario that took place earlier that day.

we cut up a brand new wedge…

and did the do.

or rather, as aniq would say it, “TADA!”

and at the risk of confusing our child with conflicting signals as to whether he is allowed or forbidden to draw on the walls with crayons, we have dramatised this video to further demonstrate the power of this Magic Sponge.

(*the following is a re-enactment. any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. please note that the persons in this scene are amateur actors with little or no screen experience in front of the camera.)

unfortunately, this is yet another unsponsored post. it would be nice though to have a one-year’s supply of the Magic Sponge. (heck, we don’t even know the name of the brand coz it’s written in japanese.)

so… would you like marker pens now, little one?

kidding! you do this again, i will panggang your diapered butt.

iban

“aniq, nak go school tak?”
“NAK!”

“aniq, nak cut hair tak?”
“NAK!”

“ohh, go school, must cut hair first…”

i don’t know how many times he’s had a haircut. countless! looks like he’s gotten used to it by now, ready to climb the chair by himself and all, sitting still and not flinching while the shaver does its thang, only occasionally looking round to look at the hairdresser.

i think the last time, we went to the sri nada barber at century square, where the pakcik did a pretty good job. sometimes we go to the kiddy barber at parkway, with varied results.

this time, the cut looks a bit weird. his daddy thinks he looks like an ‘anak orang iban’ now.

so that’s his nickname for now. :p