Yoga

Almost forgot about the good stuff today. Brought the small one for a 'mother and child' yoga trial class here. He was very well behaved and we had lots of fun!

IKEA kid

Asked the big one... "Should we go to I-K-E-A?" Spelling each letter slowly. The small one goes, "I want to go to IKEA!" almost immediately after I finished the "A". How does he know? Then again, why not? He gets to have either chocolate mousse or cheesecake in the cafe, play in the children's area and then leave the place with a "Huddup"... that's what he used to call the hot dog a year ago.

Mummy Bean and Boy Bean

Mummy Bean hides everything in boy's food. Pork, Beef, Fish, Vegetables, all hidden and mixed amongst his favourite pasta. It a science. If the balance it tipped, the food gets totally rejected. Sometimes, if she knows she might lose the battle, she garnishes them with fishballs or fishcakes or sausages at a ratio of 1/2 spoonful junk to 5 spoonfuls of real unprocessed food. But it's a losing battle. Boy Bean has learnt the tricks of the trade. He has learnt to spit the tiniest fish flake out, separate the vegetables from the pasta with his fork or flick the offending piece of 'tough' meat back into the pot where it came from with his spoon. Sometimes, Mummy Bean tries to hide real food under a paper thin slice of fish cake but Boy Bean has learnt how to fish the prize off the top without eating any of the rest!

Exhibit 1 - Ducks

Every now and then, the boy gets to entertain himself with our point and shoot. This series absolutely quacks me up...

h

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

magic

anticipation

company

happiness

painting

Cradle to cradle

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Click on the title to watch...

Finally....

THIS!

The madness of year end spending

.......been spending all the money I suddenly have. Well, technically it's not mine but the company's. Trying to spend it all before the door closes and a new financial year begins. So I bought stock photo credits from here, a couple of publication stands for our events next year, some additional print runs for some of the brochures we are running out of. This is all crazy. You wonder why didn't anyone tell you about all this pot of gold that exists. Strategy for next year? Remind everyone about how stupid it is to pour good soup down the sink because it came out after desserts.

Awwwww

So I visited the dentist. The boy wanted to tag along. Fine. I brought him along. He sat on the nice chair while I sat on the dangerous one. Couldn't see him but after 10 minutes of drilling and what not, there was a respite and I turned to look at him. The boy looked worried and hurriedly asked,

"Mummy, are you ok?"

Could I scream and say, "No, it's because of having you my teeth are in this condition!"

No.

Strike 3's

Bad Luck #1: My tooth broke. Had 7 fillings since having a baby. My teeth is falling apart!

Bad Luck #2: Brought boy to the PD this morning. He was coughing last night. Cruise is a week away so we better play safe.

Bad Luck #3: Part-time cleaner quits.

Blessings #1: I have no broken bones.

Blessings #2: He's ok, the cough hasn't affected his lungs.

Blessing #3: I don't have to listen to my mother comment about the service level of this part-time cleaner anymore.

To do #1: Visit the dentist

To do #2: Scold the school for giving him biscuits.

To do #3: Find another part-time helper or consider employing a maid.

Violin lesson

......Anyway, so he was fine and we went for his weekly violin class. We haven't been practicing much at all this week. Once yesterday and that was it this entire week. My fault. Been working too much.

There are 5 students in his class, 3 girls & 2 boys, including him. Each week, he will roll around with the other boy on the floor in that tiny room about the size of a bedroom filled with 11 people ( 5 students, 5 parents and 1 teacher). Sometimes, they'd even engage in a swordplay with their bows. Every week, I'd promise to buy him something if he behaves but so far, he has only managed to claim ONE burger from me. Today, he got a cake but only because the other boy is on holiday and he had no one to roll around with.

It's really quite a disaster. Next week is the end of the 1st term and I looking at the note which says :

I am pleased to inform you that your child will be completing the 1st term. The 2nd term will commence on 5 Jan 08. The fees for the 2nd term will be $450. Please make payment at the front counter before 15 Dec 07 if you wish to continue. I sincerely hope that you and your child had a wonderful and beneficial experience in **** Music School. I look forward to your continuation, giving us the opportunity to share with you and your child the joy of learning music.

Hmm..... "wonderful and beneficial experience" ? More like a painful and difficult one. Also, .... "look forward to your continuation". It means either (1) the parent is the one who gives up or (2) the child has no choice in this matter.

I remember when he was little, he used to scream at the gate of 113 Holland Road (Marsden Swim School). He's also, before he could talk, pointed his finger at the door and crawled himself out during one of those trial enrichment classes we brought him to. In comparison, he hasn't once told me he didn't want to go for his violin class.

Guess the decision's been made.

Flash Fever

How does he do that? Totally fine during dinner then an hour later, a 38.7 degrees fever. Gave him some paracetomol syrup and made him go to bed. this morning, 37.7 degrees and by the time I come back from my yoga at 10-ish to bring him to the doctor, he's back to normal and ok since. What a freak!

Going Bonkers

A colleague passed me something and she said she made sure I acknowledged it. I couldn't remember having taken that piece of paper nor having acknowledged that I was given that piece of paper. Basically, I didn't remember the entire incident!

Guess what? I found that piece of paper in my bag. This is bizarre.... maybe I'm going mad.

Between dusk and dawn

It's been a tough few days. Between dusk and dawn last night, I heard the small one cry. Think he must have been having a nightmare. He asked for milk and I made him some. That helped. I told him the floor was too hard for me and asked if he would sleep on the mattress. He told me, "No, I will sweat." So, we slept on the floor. Don't know how much time I took between waking up and opening my eyes but I knew the boy was already awake and was playing nearby - something which he rarely does quietly or alone. The moment I opened my eyes, he burst into a big bright smile and asked, "Mummy, bake me a sandwich please!"

I couldn't help but smile. Life is good.

*I made him an open faced sandwich toast - fresh tomatoes, virginia ham & mozzarella cheese on light rye bread yesterday. He must have loved it.