Sarah: OIC.....

Her latest phrase now... "Oh.... I see....."

This girl is really growing up to be one "Kay-Poh" girl :p (in a positive way of course... i hope... & pray! hehehe...)

Before this phrase, there was another of her favourite, which is... "My God!"
I really wondered where she learnt that from... we tried to stop her from saying that too much, else it's really becoming us-parents' problem! [3rd commandment: Thou shalt not use God's name in vain.]

I can't deny that I did say it once... and I guess she took it from there... oh boy...anyway, it's becoming less now... since the "OIC" came into the picture. :p

You & I deserve some "ME" time...

Taking care of you too!

Isn’t it just wonderful to have a little one to dote on? Yes, we know how being a parent can be one of the most rewarding experiences. But while it can be wonderful it does take a lot of patience and energy as well. And that is why we know how important it is to have some "ME" time.

Here are some suggestions for you to unwind and indulge in some "ME" time:

1. Have "ME" time every morning. Try not to start with chores. Wake up just a little earlier than your little one & sit down to empty your mind of any thoughts. One good way is to put on soft instrumental music and just tune your mind into the music.
   
2. Have "ME" time every week. Besides work (if you are a working parent) and home, it is always good to have a refreshing change of environment:

• Take a walk in the park in the evening. This is probably one of the easier and relaxing activities for any parent. But this is simpler said than done as we know it also takes a bit of commitment to do even that. But list out the benefits and motivate yourself by doing it with a close friend.


• How about window shopping? Yes, even that can be therapeutic for any person. Sometimes the idea of just getting out from the home and a change of environment can relax the mind.


• Go out for a meal. Enjoy a good healthy and enjoyable weekend lunch or dinner, or on a day you find convenient in the week that you do not have to rush through.

Remember, you deserve some "ME" time! Of course our ideas can only work with the cooperation of your partner or with the help of close family members who don’t mind taking an hour or two to give you some "ME" time. So do share this article with your partner. After all, even your partner could do with some "ME" time as well!

Article taken from here

Sarah loves to read...

Sarah likes reading a lot! I thank God for that because I dont remember doing that a lot in front of her. I know kids learn from observing but I hardly had time to do any reading.... LOL! Actually that's just a lame excuse... I don't really read and that's something I have to inculcate myself. However, I do remember when I was a kid, I used to like reading (err... or perhaps looking at pictures!). When my dad got me books, I was super duper happy and would read the same books over and over again. Some of my favourite story books were "Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs" and "Snow White & Rose Red". My dad bought lots of Peter & Jane Ladybird books too and my sis, bro and self actually had tonnes of books to read... (hmm... I wonder why I did not continue that reading habit... :-/) I also loved the picture dictionary that I had and would read it a million times!

Recently, I went to a book store and was browsing through some books. As I was looking through some children books, I was reminded of the times when I was a little kid. So, I send myself back to memory lane and thought what book would my little Sarah enjoy if I were her.

So, I got her this.....

And this is how it looks like in the inside... there are about 40+ pages and I find it very educational, ie to expose Sarah to many different things that she can find in various places.

She thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. There were nights when she asked me to read her the book. So I would turn to some pages and tell her a made-up story based on the pictures on the book. Of course, it was also an interaction time I had with my little girl during reading time. It was really fun.

I also got her another book which is a 16-in-1 fairy tale book. Simple and short stories which she also enjoyed reading it on her own and sometimes with mummy or daddy reading to her the stories inside it. Hope these 2 books would last her awhile... hehehe...

Here's a pix of Sarah reading her story book.... Looked like she was really into it, ya? :)

Below pix show the naughty look of Sarah posing with her books.

I happened to ask her last night... "Girl, why you keep reading the same book? How about the others?" I pointed to her other books in the bookshelf. Without looking at me and while reading her now-favourite-book, she replied, "Read already lor... Read finish already lor." LOL! I was amazed with her reply. To her, she has completed reading all her other books, and now, her next aim is to complete reading the latest addition of her own little library.

Keep it up, Sarah!

During my first semester of my ECE course, one of the subject was "Basic in Language Arts". It was a reminder or maybe best said as an eye-opener to me about the importance of literacy in children's development. My lecturer emphasized on the importance of inculcating the reading habit even when our children are young babies. One of the best way is having bedtime story routine with the child.

I must admit that I have not started doing so until recently. As parents (busy and tired parents), we sometimes forget to do this very important thing before we go to bed. So, if you have not already done it, start now! :)

Read previous post on Sarah's first reading activity.

"I love U"

It's a joy to hear my dear Sarah tells me, "I love you" without me prompting her to say it... :)

Sometimes, I would just call her name for fun and hug her like never before... really sayang her lots! And looks like I reap what I sow... cuz she would also just call "Mummy" for fun and say "I love you" :)

My Thumbdrive... the update!

Well, my thumb drive came back today... but it was bad news for me. The data could not be retrieved any more and I could just considered it as "gone forever". So, lesson learnt... always always always back up important files. We cant guarantee that it is saved, but well, better to back up often than to rely on so-called "luck"....

Anyways... life goes on. I cant get back what I've lost but I shall move forward and be more careful next time.

My Thumbdrive...

6 over GB of stuffs in there! Chances of me losing files like the latest UM assignments, latest photos and videos of lil Sarah and many other files is huge! I felt very very very sad when the message that popped up each time I place the thumbdrive into the USB port says that I need to reformat the drive :( Of course, I didnt reformat it but instead, I quickly called Vince, the computer expert, if he can help me. He said he can format it and later use another software to retrieve the files (which he says eventhough after format, the files are hidden inside there somewhere... whatever that means!). But I was extremely happy when I heard that there is hope for my seemed-to-be lost or corrupted files! :)

I'm praying hard that I could save all my important files. And so, as a reminder to all thumbdrive users... you'll never know what could happen to your thumbdrive so please please back those important files up!

Do read my almost-2-years-ago post about backing up important files as well! :)