It's all about Life!

CNY resolution...

2012-01-24T12:15:00.004+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year 2012 to everyone!

It's the 2nd day of CNY... so i guess this is a new year's post! People reflect about their life on 31st December of every year so that they can prepare themselves for the new year and perhaps think of some new resolutions for the new year. This time, I reflect about my life twice! And yes, i have some resolutions for the new year (extended version of the one from 31st December 2011! hahaha!)

#1 Make time to beautify myself. I think i have lacked lots of this. I did my hair rebonding before Christmas and right before CNY, i went to a beauty saloon to get my eyebrows shaped. haha! The lady that shaped my brows told me that i need to do facial too - well, at least to get rid of my blackheads! I've been wanting to do that but it was never a priority in my life... and so I used to just think about it and later left it to fade away with the wind. (sigh) So, after this CNY, i will do just that.

#2 Spend more intimate time with my loved one. Sometimes, i've been so selfish and thought that everything should be done my way. He didn't do this, he didn't do that... but then again, i think it's me. I have lacked doing this and that for him. Spend more quality time with my hubby and not look at the negative things that affects our lives. It's not just about doing house chores and making sure the house look good and neat. How about the hearts in the house i called home? yeah... good reflection!

#3 To shout less and relax more. Hahaha! I think this may be quite tough to do especially when she is just testing my patience almost all the time. However, i know it's something I have to re-learn. My patience grew less... is it because of her? I guess i got frustrated more than before because I became so bossy and wanted things to be perfect. Yes! things must be done my way. More stress is making me a horrible person. yeah... gotta change things here.

So, in this new year's reso (extended version), i need to get a more balanced life. I need to be a more loving wife, an understanding mum and of course, i must learn to love myself and take care of my beauty both inside and out! So yes, that's summarizing what I must do in the coming days... weeks and months ahead!

I believe when we get into the root of things, we're able to get things right, and easily too. Lord, surely You're in this too! Thank You for this reminder. Thus, I read this article about "Happy Parents Make Happy Kids", in my previous post. It's not about finding out how to discipline the child... how to teach a child good manners, etc. Sometimes, it's not about looking at the product and complain and finding out solution to solve the product flaws. Sometimes, it's about looking back at the factory that produces it. LOL!

Here's wishing everyone once again... a very Blessed Chinese New Year 2012! Live your life to the fullest this year! We all deserve a better life - you and your loved ones! God bless!

Article: Happy Parents Make Happy Kids

2012-01-24T12:12:00.000+08:00

Article is taken from http://health.howstuffworks.com/pregnancy-and-parenting/parenting/happy-parents-make-happy-kids.htm

By using indicators such as achievement tests, teachers' descriptions of children in classes, and their own interviews, analysis of relationships and other observations, Carolyn Pape Cowan and Philip Cowan, husband-and-wife psychologists at the University of California have concluded that it is possible to predict how well children will do emotionally, socially and academically.

The key? How the parents are doing. That's true, whether the parents are together or separated, and matters more than the number of hours with their children. Even in cases where mothers truly care about the development of their sons and daughters, says Carolyn Cowan, spending every possible moment with them when they get home from work, "the children do not fare well if the adults aren't taking care of themselves and their relationships."

She adds: "It's not just the quality of the mother and father's relationship with the child, but how they're managing as a couple that affects how well kids do. Not many couples truly share the load equally, but where it does feel shared, the husband and wife are happier as a couple and their parenting is more effective and nurturing."

Overall, the Cowans believe half of how children turn out is probably genetic and beyond parents' control. But their research suggests that about 15 percent of what happens to children can be attributed to what parents have done, 15 percent to how the marriage is going, and another 15 percent from the history of the family — for example, the parents' own experiences as children. That's equally true, they say, for divorced or separated parents and stepparents.

Lessons, according to the Cowans:

Make your relationship a priority. Schedule time together. Make it happen. If a long night out isn't possible, at least try for a regular hour here and there.
Make yourself a priority. Take breaks for yourself. Find time for friendships.

"Frazzled people with the best intentions but who are not themselves getting nurtured and befriended — and getting relief from looking after kids and family — are just not going to be as available with the energy it takes to be a strong parent," says Carolyn Cowan. "Those kids will not do as well.

Sarah's first day at school

2012-01-09T13:11:00.003+08:00

I've missed posting a blogpost with photos of my lil girl's new experience... another new milestone for her and I am so proud of her!

January 6th, 2012 marks the day that she started wearing her preschool uniform :)
She looks so cute on it (though i got one size bigger for her because she grows very very fast!)
It was her first day at school but it lasted only 2 hours because it was the orientation week. Those who were there early came into class, put down their bags, and the teachers labelled all water tumblers so that there will not be any mixed up. The kids then go to the different corners of the room to play. Some played blocks, some draw, some read books. It started off at 8.30am when her class teacher, Ms Lorraine, brought everyone in class (15 of them altogether, but only 13 were present at that time..) around the school. Anxious parents like me walked behind the kids and joined the visit-around-the-school. Hahaha! We were all allowed to be there even though, personally, I know we should just leave the kids to the good hands of the educators :) However, I'm all excited with my camera and took some photos of Sarah in her first experience in school. Hehehe...

At 9, the kids had their coco krunch snack. After that, a walk to the toilet for everyone, and then it was story-telling time. At about 9.45 I rushed back to the office to do some work :p By 10.40, I was at the gate to pick girl up... and she asked me, "Why you come so late?" I was really sorry to her... as when i left, i didnt even tell her that i was going to the office for awhile. Else, she would have understood. In the car, I asked her this and that... what did they do after story telling? Did they sing any songs? Did they play in the playground? etc etc... Her answer at that time was, "Why ask so many questions?" Ah doi... this girl... Anyway, to conclude, she did tell me a lil more about their activities I missed... they did the "Chicken dance", sang "I'm a Little Teapot", and... she told the teacher that her "Message file" is not hers... because her bag couldn't zip up due to its size. LOL! I think she's doing good at school for a start.

Today, 9th January 2012 marks another day of her milestones.... first time at the Day Care! Yes, she will be in school for 10 hours. After work, I'll be picking her up and we will travel back together. I will have strings of questions to ask her about her school and I guess, she will answer me, "Why ask so many questions?" :)

I'm so proud of her. She's really growing well. I pray for God's hands of protection upon her at school. May the Lord sees her through in her learning and development. May she be a blessing to all around her, even young as she is. Lord, I commit my lil princess into Your loving hands... in Jesus' name I pray... AMEN!

(no photos yet... as i didnt bring my cable to transfer the pix fr my hp. :p)

My Sarah has grown aggressive... =(

2011-12-30T00:24:00.003+08:00

Please pray for us...

Sometimes I felt I am in a very helpless situation... seeing my lil princess reacts and behaves very badly towards her surroundings, the people around her and even with me and daddy. It's sad to be in this position when I personally do not know what to do and help her out. Daddy & I must really pray for her... and please, pray for us too.

Recently she becomes more aggressive and started hitting and throwing tantrums that are worst than before. Helpless we may be, we're praying for the LORD to lead us... At the same time, I go for on-line help and found this article from baby centre about aggression and how we are to go about it. I hope this will help many parents like us in dealing with a 3-4 yo child whom I believe is also feeling helpless and wonders why the change in their behaviour at this stage. Who knows? They might be clue-less and yearns for us parents to help them come out of this "agony"....

Here's the article:

Why preschoolers get aggressive

There you are, watching your little angel through the window at preschool, thinking how blessed you are to have her. All of a sudden, she draws back her little hand — and whacks another child squarely on the nose.

Shocking as it may be to you (and to the other parents who witness it), aggression is a normal part of a preschooler's development. Indeed, lots of children this age grab toys from classmates, hit, kick, or scream themselves blue in the face from time to time. Sometimes the cause is a simple case of fear: Your child might lash out if she feels cornered by another youngster, for instance. Other triggers have less to do with instinct and more to do with circumstances. After all, your preschooler's learning a host of new skills, from using scissors to speaking in complex sentences. She can easily become frustrated with everything she's trying to accomplish and end up pouncing on a playmate. If she's attending daycare or preschool for the first time, she's also getting used to being away from home. If she feels resentful or neglected on top of everything else, she might just retaliate by shoving the kid who won't get out of her face. And sometimes, your youngster is simply tired and hungry. She doesn't quite know what to do about it, so she responds by biting, hitting, or throwing a tantrum.

The good news is, your preschooler will eventually outgrow her aggressive behavior as she discovers how to use words instead of fists and feet to solve her problems. The key is helping her realize — sooner rather than later — that she'll get better results from talking out a dispute than she will from yanking a friend's hair.

What you can do about aggression

Respond quickly. Try to respond immediately when you see your preschooler getting aggressive. It's tempting to wait until she's hit her brother for the third time before saying, "That's enough!" (especially when you've already reprimanded her a dozen times in the last hour). Even so, it's best to let her know instantly when she's done something wrong. Remove her from the situation for a brief time-out — for a preschooler, three or four minutes is plenty. The idea is for her to connect her behavior with the consequence and figure out that if she hits or bites, she'll miss out on the fun. No matter how angry you are with her, try not to yell, hit, or tell your preschooler she's bad. Rather than getting her to change her behavior, this simply teaches her that verbal and physical aggression are the way to go when she's mad. Instead, set a good example by controlling your temper and calmly pulling her out of the action.

Stick to the plan. As much as possible, respond to aggressive acts the same way every time. The more predictable you are ("Okay, you shoved Tina again — that means another time-out"), the sooner you'll set up a pattern that your preschooler comes to recognize and expect. Eventually it'll sink in that if she misbehaves, she gets booted out of the fun — the first step in controlling her own behavior. Even if she does something to mortify you in public, stick to the game plan. Most parents understand your situation — after all, we've all been there before. If people stare, toss off a wry comment like "Don't you just love this age?" and then handle the episode the way you see fit.

Talk it out. Let your preschooler cool down, then calmly discuss what happened. The best time to do this is after she's settled down but before she forgets the whole thing — ideally, 30 minutes to an hour later. Ask if she can explain what triggered her outburst ("Jenny, why do you think you got so mad at Tina?"). Explain that it's perfectly natural to get angry sometimes, but it's not okay to shove, hit, kick, or bite. Suggest better ways of showing how mad she is: by kicking a ball, pounding her fist into a pillow, finding an adult to mediate the dispute, or simply voicing her feelings: "Tina, I feel really mad because you took the purple crayon."

Now is also a good time to teach her to walk away from infuriating situations and people until she can think of a better way to respond than letting her fists fly. You can help your youngster deal with her anger by reading books together on the topic. Try Mr. Rogers'sLet's Talk About Feeling Angry, Aliki's Feelings, or Jane Martin's Now Everybody Really Hates Me.

Reinforce responsibility. If your preschooler's aggression damages someone's property or makes a mess, she should help make it right again. She can glue a broken toy back together, for instance, or clean up the crackers or blocks she hurled in anger. Don't frame this action as a punishment, but rather the natural consequence of a belligerent act — something that anyone would need to do if he or she broke something.

Also make sure your preschooler understands that she needs to say "I'm sorry" when she oversteps her bounds — even if you have to lead her by the hand to the offended party and say it for her. Her apologies might seem insincere at first, but the lesson will eventually sink in.

Reward good behavior. Rather than paying attention to your preschooler only when she misbehaves, try to catch her being good — when she asks for a turn at the computer game instead of snatching the mouse away, for instance, or gives up her swing to another child who's been waiting. Tell her how proud of her you are. Show her that self-control and conflict resolution are more satisfying — and get better results — than shoving other kids into the next century. Keep a special calendar on the refrigerator or on her bedroom bulletin board, and reward her with a colorful sticker when she manages to keep her temper in check.

Limit TV time. Innocent-looking cartoons and other so-called children's shows are often rife with shouting, threats, shoving, and hitting. So try to monitor the programs your preschooler sees by watching them with her — particularly if she's prone to aggression. If something happens on a show that you don't approve of, talk to her about it: "Did you see how that girl pushed her friend to get what she wanted? That wasn't a very good thing to do, was it?" (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids this age see no more than an hour or two of "quality" television a day — yet another reason to skip that show in the future.)

Don't be afraid to seek help. Some kids have more trouble with aggression than others do. If your preschooler's behavior is frequent and severe, interferes with school or other organized activities, and results in physical attacks on children or adults, consult her pediatrician. Together you can try to get to the root of the problem and decide if a child psychologist or psychiatrist is needed. Sometimes an undiagnosed learning or behavior disorder is behind the frustration and anger; sometimes the problem is related to family or emotional difficulties. Whatever its source, a counselor can help your youngster work through the emotions that tend to lead to aggression, and learn to control them in the future. More than likely, professional help won't be necessary — but if your preschooler does need some counseling, it'll be a relief to know that you don't have to deal with the problem on your own.

Busy spells...

2011-12-05T13:00:00.002+08:00

The busy spell hit me again these few weeks... our teachers' training had finally came to an end ! :p yeah, that was last week. Past month was crazy and the past 2 weeks were crazier! Had to juggle with so many tasks with so little time. But praise the Lord, it is over and I can breathe a little.

My manager who was the main trainer was even stressed with the whole event as there were a few trainings happening at the same time and back-to-back as well. I thank God i'm not in her shoe! hehehe...

Anyways, it's all over for now... but other tasks awaits us. It's back to crazy work! Working till late night is tiring for me, and as lil Sarah demands for my attention whenever I get back home, I sometimes had to reject her. It's sad I know... :( but my physical body + mental capacity limit me. She would want me to draw for her, read to her, etc... however, my reply for the past week was...

Mummy : Not now, girl... mummy's very very tired and mummy needs to sleep

Sarah : That's why... I told you to stay with me. If you stay with me, you will not be tired-lor...

Mummy : But mummy have to work so that mummy can earn more money to buy you many things you need. Buy new books, new toys....

Sarah : Barbie doll?

Mummy : Yes, barbie dolls too....

Sarah : But no space already! So many books, so many toys... then no more space already...

Well, OK... i got the hint. Actually the only thing she demands from me is my attention. It is really never my intention to get so carried away with work. I do hope and pray that in the very near future, I can live a more balanced life. Work is work... but my family... IS my life. I'm praying for God's continuous guidance upon my life, my family... my dear, my girl and myself. Nothing means more than being with my family. Though I enjoy my work but I know... I need to strive for a balanced life. I pray all these in Jesus' name, Amen!

1 week after the BBW...

2011-10-21T08:16:00.006+08:00

... that was literally 1 week after the Big Bad Wolf sales and some story-telling times with my lil princess!

Sarah : Mummy mummy... i tell you something (she came to whisper in my ear)... allinthewestwing!

Mummy : Huh? Again?!

Sarah : allinthewestwing

(I had to ask her 3x to understand what she meant! hehehe!)

Mummy : Oh... All in the west wing!

Sarah : The clock said it! :)

Well, guess what? Last night, she asked me to read her the same story... not too sure how many times i've read to her already... :) I'm fine with reading to her the story books (again) at night, but at times, my body's just so tired after a long day at work. But anyway, last night was another "cute" night spent with my lil princess.

And so, mummy here flipped open the first page of Beauty & the Beast... and started yawning.

Sarah : Mummy, read!!!

Mummy : (yawn!!!)

Sarah : Once upon a time... Mummy, read!!!

Mummy : Oh, you remembered! OK... Once upon a time...

Sarah : Mummy, I don't want "and then... and then... and then..." OK? Not nice!

Mummy : OK OK... Once upon a time...

Mummy here started reading the story, and after the first page, I paused and closed my eyes. She didn't see my closed-eyes and said "tringgg!" instead. Hahaha! That was the exact sound effect from the CD when the page is to be turned. I just had to carry on. Her "tringgg!" just woke me up! :)

And then, there was one part in the story when Belle came to look for her father in the castle.

Mummy : .... Belle said, "Papa, we've got to let you out of here!"

Sarah : There! Not here!

I looked at the words again... it was "there", and not "here". That really amazed me! She could remember some parts of the story word for word! And I also noticed her mimicking the movement of my lips as I read to her the story.

Another milestone for Sarah in her reading development! God bless her!

the BIG BAD WOLF!

2011-10-20T20:34:00.008+08:00

It was the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale.... and I went there 3 rounds cuz it's really such a worth-to-go sales! :D

First was a trip made with my team-mates in the curriculum department. hehe... konon-lah source and buy books for the department (of cuz we did that! hehe...), but I also did my own shopping le (killed 2 birdies with 1 stone!) And I went back there again in the evening after work to buy more books and also found out some books I wanted have been sold out!

Few days later, I thought I must go there again to get some more books that I've missed! hehehe... so we went there again just before leaving for Melaka that Saturday! (the temptation was too great to bear! :D) Anyway, this round, I went with lil Sarah & hubby. Of cuz, hubby's reaction was like... "WOW" when he stepped in. He didnt tell me that, but I just know :p

He bought himself a whole box of books too! ha!

Got more books for Sarah... and then again, the 2 books that I wanted weren't there anymore. Sigh... they're all up for grabs (literally!)!

OK-la.... that's for the sales. Well, bought a few princess books for Sarah. I didn't want to pamper her with princess stuffs, but the sales were just too good to be true! And so, I got her many many books which include 1 "big" princess book and 4 other "smaller" ones... :p

It would be pampering if I got her the whole volume (which is really really a good deal!), but no... I decided to close one eye and just got her a few.

This is how the "big" book look like...

This became one of her favourite story books. She would ask me to read it to her each time I return home from work.

My first attempt in reading her the book went like this:

Mummy read the whole "Beauty & the Beast" story... (without reading the text... in other words, using my own words).

Mummy : So you like the story?

Sarah : (thougth for a moment...) Why got so many "and then" one?

Mummy : Oh, you don't like it?

Sarah : (shook head) Why always "and then... and then... and then... and then..." one?

Mummy : Really? OK, next time when mummy read, no more "and then... and then... and then" OK?

Sarah : OK!

I didn't realise that I kept saying "And then" at the beginning of every page... haha! She was really showing attentiveness while listening to mummy! :)

And so... the very next day, she asked me to read to her the same story book...

Mummy : (testing her memory...) What words that you didn't like Mummy to say?

Sarah : And then.... :)

Mummy : OK-lah... so today, i will read to you from the book, OK?

Mummy read the first line of Beauty and the Beast....

Mummy : How is it? Nice?

Sarah : Yes! Don't want "and then... and then... and then... and then..." OK?

Mummy : OK! :)

She's literally my "ah-counter"! LOL!

And well, since there is a CD that came along with the book, it's now in the car and every time she's in the car, she would request for "Belle's story" or "Little Mermaid's story" or "Snow White's story"

So, thus the season of the princesses' tales.... thanks to the BIG BAD WOLF!

Some of the "Y" questions that I couldn't answer...

2011-10-06T08:18:00.004+08:00

When the Macbook's startup screen appeared, Sarah asked....
Sarah: Mummy, why the apple like this one? Who bite the apple?
Mummy: Err.....

While reading some of her favourite fairy tales....
Sarah: Mummy, why all the prince have long hair one? Why, mummy?
Mummy: Err.....

Ready for School!

2011-10-04T21:29:00.006+08:00

Oh yes... she is ready indeed! :)

Almost every week when we chat about going to school, she would get so excited and commented that she wants to go to school (tomorrow) or (later).... and that she can't wait to follow mummy to school (whenever I'm on duty in the centre on Saturdays). However, I must remind her that going to school is not always about playing or watching cartoon (which she does presently when she follows me). It is about learning and studying... and making new friends... and following the teacher's instructions and making the teacher and everyone else happy! :)

Last weekend was "Open Day" for REAL kids. And so, after work, we headed to the "chosen" centre for my lil princess.

Sarah's gotten her new uniform. Oh yes... it's the new REAL kids uniform which I think looks really nice. No problem getting Sarah on it as it IS a dress. Hahaha! Here's lil Sarah on her new uniform. Check out her smile... :)

I'm as excited as her (I guess). A new stage for me as a parent and for her as a student! This is really exciting! Praying that everything will go on smoothly. Thank You, Lord for Your blessings! :)

Sarah's Masterpieces (at 3+ yrs)

2011-10-04T21:05:00.006+08:00

These are some of her drawings which were drawn in the month of September. She loves drawing, I must say. She spends most of her time drawing princesses and she progresses each day and always amazes mummy & daddy with pleasant surprises of her masterpieces. (wah... such tongue twisting statement! hehehe!)

When I asked her why wont she draw other pictures like cat, house, car, flowers, etc... she replied that she only knows how to draw girls & princesses and she doesn't know how to draw any other things! That's my lil princess! :)

Read previous post about Sarah's drawing.

[Article] A lie or imagination

2011-08-24T16:16:00.003+08:00

About children: A lie or imagination - the psychology of raising a child

By vox vocis
You were convinced that you found an ideal secret hiding place for candies and you were about to take the daily dose for your little chocolate ''exterminator''. Surprisingly, the supplies are missing and you find out that they were given to a hungry cat because your kid felt sorry for the poor animal.

While the kid is telling you the detailed story of what happened, you are looking at ''proof'' tainted all over his face and clothes, and you are surprised because the child lies with so much self-confidence, without a blink of an eye. Don't despair, because all children experiment by twisting the truth. The more intelligent the child, the greater the number of invented stories. The severity of a lie depends on the motive behind the untruth, the age of the child and the rules of behaviour you set in terms of family.

Children start inventing things ever since the age of two, and in the fifth year of life, their imagination is so intensive that they sometimes cannot differentiate reality from fantasy. Sometimes, twisting the truth is the result of hidden desires, therefore, if your four-year-old child brings a toy from kindergarten, saying that the governess approved of it, don't proclaim the child a liar because the kid convinced himself that it actually happened, and all out of a burning desire to have that particular toy.

Many times children lie to stay out of trouble. The worst thing in a situation like this, is to punish your child, to lecture him or to accuse him of lying, which can deepen the fear and motivate the child to invent even more incredible stories. On the other hand, if you don't react in time and you ''close your eyes'' in front of tiny little untruths, there is a great danger that lying later in life, becomes a habit. Start explaining to your child in due time, that even when he or she wants something really, really bad (whether it's visiting Spiderman or going to Disneyland), it cannot always become a reality.

When telling a story to your child, make sure you emphasize the difference between reality and the events in the story, but pay attention not to soffocate the child's imagination as it is a great teacher, just to justify the fact of not writing his or her homework. The child can tell you it drove basis for developing creativity.

Around the age of six, children realize that lying is bad, but this doesn't stop them to use untruth in order to solve a problem or avoid a punsihment. In this life period, the child plans and enriches its repertoire of false excuses, and it will try to ''sell'' the story about being ill to the a bike ''a hundred miles an hour'' to prove himself or to raise self-esteem between its coevals.

White lies

In order to guide the little Pinochio to the truth, you will make an example by always keeping your promises and you will never lie.

''White lies'' are untruths said in order to avoid hurting somebody or to protect oneself. When you are teaching your child to be truly honest, make sure to explain that it isn't nice to say ''Oh, your face is so wrinkled!'' to grandma or ''You're so fat!'' to the nice lady selling ice-cream, or to turn off an invitation from a friend by saying: ''You're boring, and I won't come cause I don't like you.'' You can practice games together by ''play pretending'' in which the child can learn what to say in a given situation.

Text written and partly translated from an article by doctor P.R. in The People's Health Magazine issued in 2009: Rijeka, No. 598-599.

Article taken from

http://vox-vocis.hubpages.com/hub/A-lie-or-imagination-the-psychology-of-raising-children

Imaginary friends (Part 3) : Pretend Play

2011-08-18T13:25:00.001+08:00

Pretend play is vital to children’s development. Imaginary friends are an extension of pretend play, which is a normal, healthy, important part of a young child’s development. Pretend play gives children a chance to learn about roles, relationships, power, and control. Pretend play also gives children a chance to work through the multitude of feelings they experience daily. Because adults make most of the decisions about children’s lives, children are always looking for ways to gain some control and to deal with their feelings of helplessness.

When a child goes to the doctor, she doesn’t get to decide to go, if she is going to get a shot, an examination , or medicine. When she comes home and "becomes" the doctor, she is in charge of the decisions and can give her imaginary friend as many shots as she wants. She and her imaginary friend could even devise a way to escape the doctor’s office altogether. Children often use pretend play to become the person in charge.

A child who resists naps and nighttime routines may spend all day putting his teddy down for a nap. These imaginary play outlets help children learn to cope with their lives.

Imaginary friends (Part 2)

2011-08-18T12:58:00.002+08:00

Sarah's imaginary friends have increased over time. She doesn't just have 2-3 friends as mentioned in my earlier post, but many of them. Each time, when asked who was the friend, a new name will be mentioned. "Atta", "Anna", "Alla", etc... and she said they are "Malay" friends, cuz she does hear those names from her kor-kor Ivan. So, they automatically became her friends as well... :)

Sometimes, she would say that her "friend" doesn't want milk, when in fact she herself doesn't want milk. I found the below article very true, specifically this statement: "Sometimes children can use their imaginary friends to avoid doing something they don't want to."

The article is taken from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1979

Imaginary friends

Contents

It is quite common for children of about three or four years of age to have an imaginary friend. This may be another child or could be a magical person or an animal. Sometimes the imaginary friends change as the child grows older.

Often children who have imaginary friends are only children, or oldest children in the family; but having an imaginary friend does not mean that your child is lonely. They are usually creative, imaginative children.

As the child grows older the real world takes over and by the time the child is going to school the imaginary friend usually just quietly disappears.

What do imaginary friends do?

Imaginary friends can be helping your child in different ways.

As playmates providing companionship.
They allow the child to play creative games and try out different ways of doing things.
They are a way for children to practice getting on with others.
They are a way for the child to safely test out different actions and feelings, eg fear or anger.
They allow the child to be in charge and control someone else at a time in her life when most people seem to be controlling her.
They allow children to have a private life that adults are not part of.
They can help children to deal with strong feelings such as fears or anger, by having a fearful friend or being angry with their friend. ,
They can help children if things in their lives are stressful. For example a child who is always cross with her friend may be in a situation where she feels that the adults in her life are always cross with her.
Children who are very "good" may have a friend who is very "naughty" and does some of the things the child would perhaps like to do.
They can help children avoid getting into trouble with parents because when some thing is wrong "the friend did it".

Are imaginary friends a problem?

Imaginary friends are a part of normal development and rather than being a problem they can help children to deal with some of the stresses in their lives.

Sometimes an imaginary friend can help parents to see where a problem is.

For example if the imaginary friend is afraid of the dark it is likely that the child is afraid of the dark and learning to manage her fears through the friend.
If the friend is always misbehaving and getting into trouble it may be that the child is having too may rules or punishments.

Sometimes children can use their imaginary friends to avoid doing something they don't want to.

If this happens a lot, parents need to treat the imaginary friend in the same way as the child, eg "Mrs Rabbit might say you don't have to go to bed, but I am your mum and it is bedtime. Mrs Rabbit can come if you like".

If your child plays happily with others and enjoys doing things with you and other children there is not likely to be any problem. If the child continues to choose the friend very often rather than doing things in the real world it is helpful to have a look at what is going on in his life and think about ways to help him enjoy doing real things as well.

What you can do

Here are some ways you can respond to your child's imaginary friend.

Let your child take the lead in how you respond. If it is a private relationship and the child wants you to stay out of it follow that lead. If you are asked to join in the play then do so. Usually you will be asked to make room for the friend in different ways such as providing a seat in the car, not sitting on the friend in a chair and maybe providing things like a cup or plate for the friend.
While accepting the way your child wants you to act towards the friend it is helpful if you don't get too involved and take over or add your own ideas to the story. It helps your child to work out what is real and what isn't if you stay grounded in the real world most of the time and if you take over or add to the story you are taking from your child's need to create her own story.
If the friend is always to blame when the child does something wrong it will be helpful to take it out of a "blame" situation. For example if the child says his magic bunny spilt the milk you could say that mistakes are to learn from and that you will help him to clean up the mess for the bunny.
As your child gets older try to provide lots of enjoyable experiences with real children and real things so the friend will gradually not be as interesting or attractive as the real world, and will disappear.
Remember that being three or four years old in an expanding world can be scary and that by having a friend to help him through this time your child is being both resourceful and creative.
If you feel that your child is shy or does not relate easily to others see the topic 'Shyness'.

Imaginary friends

2011-08-16T21:38:00.004+08:00

In our conversations every now and then, lil Sarah would sometimes include her "friends" in. She has 2 sets of friends... the real ones (Cheh-cheh Ashley & Andrea) and the imaginary ones (Careful Carol & Neat Nadia). I guess it all depends on her mood at that time which friends she refers to when we have conversations about "friends".

"Careful Carol" & "Neat Nadia" - these are 2 of Sarah's books which also became her "imaginary friends"!

Sarah loves these 2 books and sometimes I don't mind reading it to her over and over (as she requests) because they are good books teaching some great values in life. She likes being careful and neat, and if she forgets doing what she is supposed to do, some simple reminders of her friends are given and she knows what to do already.

So, sometimes imaginary friends are helpful to instill good habits! While we are at this topic, I decided to google search about it and found this article:

Australian researchers say having an imaginary friend can help a child learn.

According psychologist, Dr. Evan Kidd at Melbourne's La Trobe University, children with imaginary friends are better at learning to communicate than other children because they have a lot of practice at inventing interactions with their friends, which helps them improve their conversational skills.

Dr. Kidd and his colleague Anna Roby explored the hidden world of imaginary companions in a study which involved 44 children, 22 of which had imaginary friends in an attempt to understand the benefits.

The study found that the 22 children who had imaginary friends were better able to get their point across than were children of the same age who did not have an imaginary friend - Dr. Kidd says these children are in charge of both sides of the conversation so have a lot of practice at inventing interactions between their imaginary friends and themselves and this is what facilitates the development of their conversational skills.

The researchers also discovered that children with an invisible friend or personified toy had a better social understanding, were generally first born or only children and were very creative.

Dr. Kidd says all the children with imaginary friends were very creative and treated these imaginary 'friends' as real, played with them throughout the day and referred to them in conversation - one child reported having a companion named Sarah, who had a pet dragon while another enjoyed a friendship with an imaginary family, Mr and Mrs Driller who had two children - another child had an imaginary tomato called 'Bodder' and a potato called 'Bun.

Dr. Kidd says the phenomenon of the imaginary friend is really misunderstood and people think it is rare and a concern but past studies have shown that around 65% of children aged between three and nine, had imaginary friends and the characters, rather than due to some internal malaise, appear to be an essential component of normal development.

Dr. Kidd has established in his research that the benefits of imaginary companions are long lasting - a study of university students showed that those who recalled having an imaginary companion in childhood were more creative, more achievement oriented, and more emotionally responsive than students who didn't have one.

However, there was no difference between any of the 44 children when it came to listening skills.

Dr. Kidd is a Research Fellow at La Trobe's School of Psychological Sciences.

The article is taken from :

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/Imaginary-friends-help-children-learn.aspx

Sarah makes friends easily... (at 3+)

2011-08-16T21:16:00.007+08:00

Sometimes I bring Sarah to school with me on Saturdays. When our CEFL English classes started some weeks ago, it wasn't just me and her (and sometimes daddy) in school but some other children were around too. They were early and while waiting for their class to start, they would be either reading some books or play with Sarah. The latter is something that Sarah looks forward to every week.

For a few weeks now, Sarah would tell me that she is waiting for her "friends" to come play. She especially looks forward to one of the "cheh-chehs". Two cheh-chehs aged 7 years old would play with her masak-masak. Incidentally last week, I heard her conversation with one of the girls after class, "You waiting for your mummy ar?" I turned and smiled at both of them. Sarah made friends easily and have also boldly strike up conversations with others. I knew for sure that my little girl will not have problems socializing when she goes to school one day.

She has passed her social and emotional development with distinction! Way to go, gal! :)

Toilet training - staying dry at night (Part 2)

2011-08-16T20:50:00.003+08:00

Today is an achievement for my lil Sarah. She woke me up at 4.30am to tell me that she wants to "shee shee"! :)

I am soooooooooooo proud of her!

Last week, she stopped wearing diapers at night, but on both nights, she wet her mattress. And then, I sorta gave up, thinking maybe she's just not ready... I let her wear pull ups and told her to wake up when she needs to go. However, every morning, her pull ups is full of urine.... (and i mean really full!). We (or rather I) stopped letting her go to bed without diapers. I also did not wake up to my 2am alarm clock to wake her up for toilet visit... and well... what more lil Sarah when her mummy here is too darn lazy to wake up. I just have to admit that! :p

This morning... lo and behold... she woke me up instead. She really made me proud (especially when it is of her own attempt!)

Read previous post about toilet training.

On praying for parking...

2011-08-15T13:42:00.004+08:00

Mummy & lil Sarah went to Jusco last Sunday... and as usual, the number of cars during weekends outnumbered the number of parking spaces available. Mummy told lil Sarah to pray to God for parking...

Sarah : Lord Jesus, I pray for parking in Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Mummy : Amen!

Mummy drove 1-2 rounds and there still wasn't any parking... and of course, we never stopped talking in the car during the time. And the question about parking came about again.

Sarah : Why still no parking, Mummy?

Mummy : Sarah girl girl must pray harder for parking OK?

Sarah : Lord Jesus, I pray for parking... then can buy barbie doll dress... then can go kai kai... then can buy a lot of things. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!

Mummy : Amen! :)

English fries?

2011-08-15T13:26:00.004+08:00

Mummy : Want to eat french fries later? Mummy buy french fries OK?

Sarah : I don't want french fries... I want English fries.

Mummy : English fries?

Sarah : Yes, what is English fries?

Mummy : I don't know... where did you learn that word?

Sarah : I don't know...

I really wonder where she learns this word "English fries", but it surely shows something about my little girl. She seemed to know that the word "French" is related to a "language" or a "country" perhaps? :)

Conversation with lil Sarah

2011-08-15T13:22:00.003+08:00

Sarah : I got no energy, mummy....

Mummy : Why no energy? You didn't eat enough, right?

Sarah : Yes lor... I play only... Don't want to eat. Everyday play play play only.

Mummy : And then?

Sarah : And then, mummy scold lor... Daddy scold lor... Yeh Yeh scold lor... Nai Nai scold lor...

Mummy : And then?

Sarah : And then, I very naughty lor... Don't want to listen. Everyday play play play only.

Mummy says eat but I play play play only lor...

Mummy : Then why are you so naughty?

Sarah : I don't know (showing me the very innocent look, but that was really cute!)

Toilet training - staying dry at night

2011-08-11T21:55:00.004+08:00

Well, it has been a while that lil Sarah has been toilet trained during the day, ie when she was 2+... however, it is only recently (this week) that I decided to try toilet training her during the night as well. I know that when I've decided on that, that would also mean me getting up of bed at night to check on her... and so, OK... I guess I am now ready to sacrifice some sleep since my work (for now) enables me to get more hours of sleep in the mornings.

Anyways, just to share some findings I have on this topic:

Taken from

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Toilet_training_staying_dry_at_night

A child usually masters daytime toileting before they can keep their bed dry at night. Don’t be concerned if your toddler wets the bed, because most children under the age of five years still urinate in their sleep, and one in 10 younger primary school children do too.

Don’t assume that your child can keep their bed dry just because they can manage their toileting when they are awake. It might help to think of staying dry at night as completely separate to daytime toilet use.

How to tell when your child is ready
Leave your child in nappies until they are ready. Suggestions include:

If your child wakes up every morning with a wet nappy, they’re not ready. If you take them out of night-time nappies, they will wet the bed.
Keep your child in night-time nappies until most nappies are dry in the morning or until they are wet just before your child wakes. The nappy will be soaked and the urine warm.
Your child may attempt to go to the toilet during the night or call out for your help.

Preparations for staying dry at night
Suggestions include:

Make sure your child can manage to get out of bed and can easily remove their pyjamas. Encourage your child to practise pulling them up and down.
Talk to your child about going to the toilet at night-time. Work out your procedure together. Will they go to the toilet themselves, use a potty in their bedroom or wake you up for help?
You may need to talk about your chosen night-time toileting procedure a few times. For example, you might say: ‘Come into my bedroom and wake me up when you need to go to the toilet, and I’ll help you’.
Put a waterproof mattress protector on their mattress.
Make sure your child has easy access and vision to find the toilet at night.

Staying dry at night
Suggestions include:

Make a trip to the toilet part of your child’s bedtime routine.
Casually remind your child to get up in the night if they need to go to the toilet.
If your child wakes up for any reason during the night, ask them if they want to go to the toilet before being tucked back into bed.
Avoid pressuring your child. They’re keen to master toileting and anxious about disappointing you.
If your child is dry in the morning, give gentle praise but don’t be concerned if they’re wet.
Don’t get angry or frustrated at your child for wetting the bed. If the extra washing bothers you, buy pull-ups.
Don’t punish your child for wetting the bed. They’re not doing it deliberately to annoy you. Be calmly reassuring, they need your guidence.

Approaches to avoid
Some approaches will only delay your attempts to help your child stay dry at night. Approaches to avoid include:

Don’t criticise, humiliate or belittle your child for being a ‘baby’. Night-time bladder control is a process of maturation. All efforts, no matter how small, should be praised.
Don’t punish your child by making them stay in their wet sheets or getting them to wash the soiled bed linen, for example. If your child is anxious, they are less likely to stay dry at night.
Don’t deprive your child of fluids in the evening. Make sure they drink plenty during the day so that they are not very thirsty in the evening.
Don’t talk about your child’s ‘problem’ to other people when the child is present, as this can make them feel ashamed and embarrassed.

When staying dry at night is difficult
If your child is finding it difficult to stay dry at night, some of these suggestions may help:

Remember that it might take years for your child to reliably master night-time dryness. Don’t stress about it or compare your child’s efforts with other children who are apparently dry at night.
If your child is scared of the dark, going to the toilet at night is an enormous challenge. Consider putting nightlights in the hallway. Think about leaving their door open for easy access.
If they feel that trekking all the way to the toilet is still too daunting, you could put a potty in their bedroom.
Make sure your child feels that it’s okay to wake you up in the night when they need to go to the toilet.
If your child is becoming anxious or frustrated, take the pressure off. Forget about night-time toilet training for a while.

Drawing & Colouring Activities for Sarah

2011-08-03T08:48:00.007+08:00

Sarah loves drawing and colouring. I can't tell yet if she likes one thing more than the other. However, I can see that at the moment, she enjoys all these activities and especially when she has someone accompanies her to do it. Whenever she's with us (daddy/mummy), she will give us a paper and a pencil and ask us to draw this and that... and of course, the ever-famous request is that we draw "Princess" for her.

These are some of her drawings:

This is a drawing of her family and friends... very tall people, ya?! :)

Cute eye-lashes... and ribbons on the necks too! :)

She uses round objects to trace as "faces".

She did this activity together with her cousins, Reanne & Ivan.

Doing things together can be one of the most effective ways of learning & it's not boring too!

She drew this on 23rd June, 2011.

And the very next day, she drew this. Looks like her princess' clothes have upgraded from plain to checkered patterns on them! Lovely! :)

These are some of her colourings:

When I came back from work, it caught me by surprise and I was totally amazed when I saw this piece of art - coloured by my (then) 32 months old girl!

She coloured the car beautifully and all within the lines. Great job, Sarah!

These are some of her other art work:

Check out the "make-up" that she puts on her barbie doll pic! :)

She's also learning to write her "name".

Can you see the "S", "A" and "R" somewhere on the paper? Hehe... :)

That's a picture of "Samson" from the Bible. A very colourful man indeed! Hehehe....

After story-telling by Uncle Joshua, the kids were given a colouring sheet of Samson each (hand-drawn by Aunty MJ :))

My life in these few months...

2011-07-21T16:36:00.013+08:00

Time really flies... i guess this phrase will always be the "intro" for my post cuz... time REALLY flies!! Hehe... as in... the last post was written more than a month ago! Was i just too busy? Or was i just merely lazy? :p

Anyways, just thought that it's time for me to make some noise again before people actually think that this blogger is no longer active (well, not as active as before (of cuz!))

Well.... what took place these few months that I could think of? Perhaps, it's good that i jot them all down here (in summary) before I go on with the details later (when huh?! :p)

Well... the one thing I like about blogging about the events that took place in my life is the fact that I will one day forget them (somehow... maybe due to old age :p)... and so, before I really start forgetting, I'm now blogging the happenings in my life...! Here goes...

12 March : Sarah's (& mine!) first Sunway Lagoon expedition!

Mama, Ah Ee & Kor-kor Paul joined the fun. It was interesting for a first timer... but should be better next time when we are more ready & also need to be good time-keepers when we're in there. It started to pour when we were only less than half way through our time at the water park! My family was around during the week to celebrate Sarah's 3rd birthday.

3-5 June (June school holiday) : The Yeo's & the Seah's made a trip up to Cameron Highlands. It was a really great trip. We spent so much time relaxing, eating & taking photos. The kids enjoyed their time together too. Tears of sadness were seen among them when everyone has to say "Good bye"

14 June : I started my SD2 diet! One of the parents in my centre introduced this product to me. It's a soya-milk-based kinda diet. They say when you drink this, you won't feel hungry. However, during the 1st week of this diet, after drinking it, I felt more hungry than before. Hahaha! But after that, it seemed to work. I didn't eat as much as before. I also cut down on carbo especially rice. I guess my stomach got smaller. I used to be able to eat 3 pieces of KFC chicken per meal, but now... I could only take 1.5, or 2 if it's the wings part :p

Result after 1 month : I lost a few inches for every part of my body (haven't really calculated them precisely) and 4kgs in total :D

1 July : Our centre's maid "ran away".... leaving us no notice at all. The new teacher who was supposed to start on this very day did not turn up as well. Both the Principal & i had to juggle our time with being the centre manager/administrator/teacher/cook/cleaner all at the same time. It went well, I must say. We worked well as a team. But thank God that 2 weeks later, one new teacher came in and that took half of our burdens away. Personally, i was glad as i could now focus on setting up the new classes for Cambridge English for Life (CEFL).

9 July : My BIG DAY! My Convocation! I finally got my Professional Diploma in Early Childhood Education after all the "hard work" of studying! Praise the LORD! :)

This date is easily remembered because it is also the BERSIH date! Lotsa road blocks, lotsa police, lotsa traffic jam, etc etc... :p

16 July : Our first CEFL class started. (I have to pen this down as this will make history later). Hahaha!

And that's all for now that i can remember. As far as my time is concern, my working hours have changed a lot ever since 16 July. For until time will tell, i have to work till late night for 2 days in a week. And my Saturdays are tight too. In the near future, when more classes start, that would even mean longer working hours for me on Saturdays.

In the meantime, i am enjoying some flexi working hours that my boss gave me. It's also a give-&-take thing between my Principal & me. I get to come to work later... or even have few hours break in between my morning shift & night shift. Later on, i'll just start work in the afternoon so i can wake up late in the mornings :p

There'll soon be some change in my career... but will only reveal to you all later, oki? So, stay tuned for more.... :D I must thank God for every opportunity given to me in all my work. I've really learned a lot and i can never despise every tasks given to me, though some things are new and some are tedious.... i'm just taking it step by step and as He leads.

And what about my little princess' development? Oh my... i've just got too much to share & too many photos to compile! Am truly a procrastinator, ain't i??! Sarah's 3 years old and she's growing up well. She loves drawing, coloring, reading, dressing up, play games, play puzzles, role-playing with her cousins (& dolls), etc... her life is full colour & I thank God for every second of her life. I pray that she will grow up to be a great person - one who is perfect in every way & especially in God's ways!

"Yes, Queen!"

2011-06-07T15:56:00.005+08:00

Sometimes, whenever we call Sarah, she will either "buat bodoh... tak dengar..." or if she responds, we make sure she responds and says, "Yes, mummy!" or "Yes, daddy!".

Few days ago, I called her and she replied, "Yes, queen!" So funny lar this gal! :D

Ms Keh-Poh-Chi

2011-05-31T22:05:00.002+08:00

"Phwah! Very nice, man...."

These were the words uttered by my lil Princess when she saw her cheh-cheh Reanne - walking out from the room with her new pyjamas.

I couldn't help but to blog about it! So keh-poh-chi this gal! LOL! :D

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

2011-05-31T20:36:00.003+08:00

Heard of Keirsey temperament sorter?

What's your personality type? Ever wonder? Perhaps you have done so many personality tests... or at least once in your life. Right? Right? Right?

Personally, I've done a few... but lately, I thought perhaps my personality has changed over time, or has it?

I was browsing through the website about dono-wat :p and found this site http://www.keirsey.com/ by accident. I took a free test (answer 70 very short questions) and got the result almost immediately.

Check this out...

Custom Keirsey Temperament Report for: Rachel Yeo

Your Keirsey Temperament Sorter Results indicates that your personality type is that of the

Guardians are the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to maintenance and supply -- and they use all their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses.

Guardians can have a lot of fun with their friends, but they are quite serious about their duties and responsibilities. Guardians take pride in being dependable and trustworthy; if there's a job to be done, they can be counted on to put their shoulder to the wheel. Guardians also believe in law and order, and sometimes worry that respect for authority, even a fundamental sense of right and wrong, is being lost. Perhaps this is why Guardians honor customs and traditions so strongly -- they are familiar patterns that help bring stability to our modern, fast-paced world.

Practical and down-to-earth, Guardians believe in following the rules and cooperating with others. They are not very comfortable winging it or blazing new trails; working steadily within the system is the Guardian way, for in the long run loyalty, discipline, and teamwork get the job done right. Guardians are meticulous about schedules and have a sharp eye for proper procedures. They are cautious about change, even though they know that change can be healthy for an institution. Better to go slowly, they say, and look before you leap.

Guardians make up as much as 40 to 45 percent of the population, and a good thing, because they usually end up doing all the indispensable but thankless jobs everyone else takes for granted.

Guardians at Work
As a Guardian, you enjoy working as a valued member of a team, whether you are leading it or following a credible leader. You like to work with people who carry their weight. You appreciate having clear-cut responsibilities and being recognized for your dedication and achievements. Your natural traits are those that employers have traditionally valued - and that successful companies still respect. You are responsible and loyal to an organization once you've signed on.

Establishing and following a familiar daily routine is critical to your well being. In your ideal job, you and your coworkers would all share information so that everyone could remain "on the same page” as projects move forward. Because you genuinely care about the people you work with, your colleagues and your customers appreciate your unassuming kindness.

All Guardians share the following core characteristics:

Guardians pride themselves on being dependable, helpful, and hard working.
Guardians make loyal mates, responsible parents, and stabilizing leaders.
Guardians tend to be dutiful, cautious, humble, and focused on credentials and traditions.
Guardians are concerned citizens who trust authority, join groups, seek security, prize gratitude, and dream of meting out justice.

Ahem! Ahem! That's the results of my personality test. Sounds like me alright! Hahahaha! Perasan! :p

Have you taken yours? :)

Happy Teacher's Day 2011_my thoughts

2011-05-17T08:33:00.007+08:00

A mother made these colourful muffins for all the teachers. I managed to capture some photos before they entered our mouths :D They tasted great (less sugar I'd say)! Then, the child gave each teacher a cute "Teacher's Day" coaster as well. Another child gave a rose with ferrero rocher chocolate.

It's my 2nd year celebrating "Teacher's Day" in my life as a teacher. At first, it wasn't easy to respond to that "call". It sounded and felt weird. But after some months, I got used to people calling me, "Teacher Rachel" :)

Here's me sharing with you what it is like being a preschool teacher. It is not very easy being one, especially when the kids under your care are not your own and when it's not just about handling one or two or three of them! When the number of students increases, it does good to the centre but not-so-good to the child and care-taker. Every child needs attention, and some need more than others. When you cant give them what they need, you basically putting your head on the chopping board. They could be crying, or some would even hurt themselves or other children just so that they get your attention. And then, it's about disciplining the class and at the same time loving them, teaching them and making sure that their parents are also satisfied with the "services" rendered to them and to their children. It's a pretty tough call to be a teacher, but when you do get into this position and when you see your children learning new things everyday, and when you hear your children say "Yay!" when they see you coming into the class, the satisfaction is guaranteed! :D

Happy Teacher's Day to all the GREAT TEACHERS out there!

Happy Teacher's Day 2011

2011-05-16T15:21:00.001+08:00

To all the teachers out there....

Blue moon arrived for.... KFC!

2011-05-16T14:46:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday, after work, Sarah & I went to Jusco to have lunch and do some window shopping. I asked her the usual question, "What would you like to eat?"

Sarah : McDonalds!

Mummy : No...

Sarah : KFC?

Mummy : Hmmm... Yes, we'll be having KFC later for dinner. Daddy wants to eat with girl-girl and mummy later. OK?

Sarah : Oh... now KFC blue moon ar?

Mummy : Yes, but only later at night.

Sarah : Oh....

And so... we reached Jusco! We walked pass McD....

Sarah : Mummy, why so many people eating McDonalds? But it's yellow moon worrrr......

Mummy : Yes, but for us, we need to wait for blue moon then only we eat McDonalds OK?

Sarah : McDonalds yellow moon, KFC blue moon ar?

Mummy : Yes, girl... :)

Sarah : Oh....

Sometimes, kids at this age would repeat... and repeat... and repeat words after words. And of course mummy have to be a lil patient to listen, to explain, and sometimes to repeat.... and repeat... and repeat the same answers over and over again. Haha... Just something to go through when we have a kid like tht! :)

Read previous post on blue moon.

Doe, a deer... oh dear! :)

2011-05-16T13:01:00.000+08:00

Doe, a deer, a female deer

Ray, a drop of golden sun

Me, a name I call myself

Far, a long long way to run

Sew, a needle pulling thread

La, a note to follow sew

Tea, I drink with jam and bread

That will bring us back to do...oh oh oh

Sarah : Mummy, what is "doe, a deer"?

Mummy : Doe is a female deer. A deer is an animal. Deer is the boy and doe is the girl. (Haha! Ain't sure if i am making sense to this lil 3 year old! :))

Sarah : Oh.... Then, daddy is "deer" ar? Dear, wake up! Dear, wake up!

Mummy : (LOL!)

Mummy calls daddy "dear" and sometimes she hears me calling him to wake up (like how she said it!) It was really fun to have conversations with her at this stage. She is a real darling and she really makes me laugh out loud! :D

We used to sing a lot together. One of the song is "Do-Re-Mi", but lately, every song we sing will have a question that follows. She is really an information digger. Hahaha.

A beautiful morning at school....

2011-04-30T11:19:00.007+08:00

Today is Saturday and I am on duty again at my centre. Sometimes, I'll bring Sarah with me and she'll be spending half her day on her own - playing "masak-masak", puzzles, doing writing, drawing, cutting & pasting, etc etc...

Well, she was exceptionally in her best behaviour this morning! I was at the office and she was just beside me in the Playgroup room. After an hour plus, she was still playing on her own (of course, after toilet break & biscuit break in between time). She tidied up her kitchen first before she started playing puzzles. Very quietly, I took some pictures of her playing puzzles and I was just thinking to myself how blessed I am to have this little princess as my dear daughter... an apple of my eye indeed.

Once finished, she ran to the office to show me the completed 40-pcs puzzle.

Well done, Sarah! :)

An accident happened....

2011-04-30T09:53:00.005+08:00

It was on 20th April in the wee hours of the morning that my car met with an accident. No, it wasn't me that drove... it was hubby!

I got his permission to blog about this incident, so definitely I am not here to "condemn" him! :*

This was my car after the accident:

Thank God it didn't look like this:

When the accident took place, all that matters was his life. It could have been worst, but the LORD's hand was upon him. I also thank God that the accident happened NOT with another car but with a tree. So, that alone was a blessing too. Else, things could get more complicated.

Also, thank God that my sister-in-law loan me her car. Else, I will not be able to go to work as usual too. Some other arrangement has to be made. And again, things could be more complicated too!

All in all... we all learn one thing here, in one way or another. We learn to appreciate the things and people around us. We learn to be more careful and always pray for God's protection. It is more often than not that we take our lives and our belongings for granted.

My car is now in the workshop and I will only able to get it back some time next week. Looking at a brighter side, I will get a brand new car by next week! :)

Sarah, the online game player

2011-04-23T15:49:00.004+08:00

Sarah : Mummy, can i play barbie doll game? the one can change dress one? got hairband one, got bag one, and can change shoes one, got high shoe one and sports shoe one.... got sooooooooooooo many things one.... also can spin, and dance one? can or not, mummy?

Mummy : No, I must finish my work.

Sarah : Mummy, I good girl.... can i play or not?

Mummy : I said "No!" You rest a little while first. Mummy wants to do work.

And Sarah being Sarah.... being sooooooooooooooo persistent made mummy here angry and shouted at her to stop. :p

She cried a little while before she continued her act of persuasion.

She walked around me and said....

Sarah : Mummy I want to play game? Please? Can or not?

... while singing some nursery rhymes..... To Market To Market.... followed by Mary Mary Quite Contrary.... then followed by Row Row Row Your Boat.... Hickory Dickory Dock.... Three Blind Mice.... and then back to our conversation....

Sarah : Mummy "Three Blind Mice" is what? Huh, mummy? It's what? Mummy?

Well.... I just kept quiet all the while... hehehe... this mummy ar! I was actually blogging all these down while she talks.... :p

OK-la... i think she's been really a good girl.... so, the reward is... she can now play her Barbie doll game which she's been waiting for.

Well, this is the online game she plays...

http://icanbe.barbie.com/games.html#

... and the one with the "change clothes one" is.... http://www.barbie.com/activities/fashion/

hmmm.... maybe not.... how about.... http://www.barbiegirls.com/

Sarah : Why cannot find one?

............ ok, u know what? looks like as per this blog post, there were some changes made in the website. We couldnt find the page that she likes.... ie the "changing clothes one". So, she has to look for other favourites. Poor girl... :/

Actually... there are lots of free online games for kids, and even Barbie doll games are not just any games. They consists of matching games, sorting games, and lots more. It does educate the child, but of course, as parents, we must minimize the time for playing. Thus, the child learns to "wait", learns about following house rules as well as getting rewards when they behave well.

McD in a blue moon....

2011-04-23T12:12:00.004+08:00

I had this conversation with Sarah in the car last night...... and this time, it's about McDonald's.... or is it?!

Mummy : Girl girl, from now onwards, we have to eat less of McDonald's you know? We can eat-la... but only once in a blue moon, OK?

Sarah : (after pausing for a while...) How about pink moon?

Mummy : (giggling...) pink moon? No pink moon. Once in a blue moon means you can eat it once in a long while. Not too much. Understand?

Sarah : Ohhhhhhhh....... then what now?

Mummy : Oh, it's yellow moon now!

Sarah : Ohhhhhhh..... not blue ar?

Mummy : No, it's not blue moon, it's yellow moon so we cannot eat McDonald's now ok?

Sarah : OK! :)

Well, why we had this conversation about McD? Cuz we realized lately that we've been giving in to our "craving" for McD. And it's not just Sarah. I have to admit, I too been eating that. Sometimes on a weekend, when we ask Sarah what she wants to eat, she'll reply either McD or KFC. Oh my... check out how kids can get so addicted with fast food... and even us adults!

Just writing for writing sake... :p

2011-04-15T16:24:00.005+08:00

It has been about 1 and half months since I really shared about my life. I wouldn't dare say that I've been busy because I actually do have my own personal time as well, which I chose to do other things than to blog.

Why did I stop writing? In all honesty, I am a little lazy... especially when I do not need to wake up early to do my assignments now that I've completed my studies. I chose the extra time to sleep a little bit more. And sometimes, I just lost for words... to blog something which is deep and part of my life depends a lot (or mostly) on my emotions and my thoughts at that particular time. Sort of... no inspiration, then... just too bad-lah! :P

As I am writing this, I am actually suffering a little bit of a headache, and thought that blogging would just be the "cure" for now... maybe a bowl of cendol later too! kekeke....

No inspiration whatsoever, so I wont be writing anything "heavy", but just writing something to get my blog "alive" a lil. There are tonnes of folders of photos for me to filter and tell stories from (well, of course, mainly about my little princess), but sometimes procrastination wins the battle, sadly to say.

So anyways, "HI" to all my friends! Wish everyone a great weekend ahead and also great weeks and months ahead! :)

Teaching Alphabet Letters

2011-04-13T14:03:00.002+08:00

Taken from : http://www.atozphonics.com/alphabet-letters.html

Frequently asked questions on teaching alphabet letters are:

What is the ideal age to introduce the alphabet?
What letters to teach first?
Do I teach letter names or letter sounds?
Should I teach capital or lower case first?
Is it a good idea to teach the alphabet in alphabetic order?
How do I actually teach alphabet letters?

So let's look at these individually, because the odds are there is at least one question above that you would like to know the answer to!

What is the ideal age to introduce alphabet letters?

This really does depend on your child. I would love to give you a definite answer, like - 'when your child is 3yrs and 45 days you may begin.' You know as well as I do that life just isn't like that! Some children will be ready at 2yrs while others are happy to wait until 5 or 6yrs. What I can say, is that if you follow the advice in'step 1' about what to teach BEFORE the alphabet, then it will happen naturally - you will instinctively know when you have 'reached the ideal' time to begin the formal introduction of alphabet letters. The decision ultimately lies with your child and not you! Just immerse your child in books, rhymes and phonemic awarenessactivities and the progression will be a seamless one. Most typically, a child is able to begin learning the alphabet around the age of 3 or 4yrs.

Do I teach capital or lower case first?

I have met teachers who swear by teaching capital letters first and yet others who insist on teaching lower case and then another group who insist on teaching both at the same time! Personally - I advise on teaching lower case first. Why? Because capital letters only account for about 5% of all letters in the written word and so it seams to make sense to pay more attention to the teaching of the lower case letters as these are the ones children will be introduced to first in their environment. After you have taught your child to recognize lower case letters, I would put up an alphabet frieze with both capital and lower case letters and talk about them. Let the child see them and compare them, play games of matching up lower case with their capital letters. Notice the importance of fun here - always make learning fun! While teaching my own children - I would use games to discreetly assess if they had grasped a phonics principle - there was no pressure of 'tests' so it was a win win situation. My children particulary enjoyed looking at the Letterland books.

Do I teach letters sounds or letter names?

I teach both at the same time. I would remind my children that animals are called by different names, such as a 'pig' or 'cow' but that they all make different sounds eg, 'oink' and 'moo'. So it is with alphabet letters, each has a name but also a sound. I would say "this is the letter 'S' it says the /sssssss/ sound as in sssun." Model the sound to copy and use words that are meaningful to your child. If you need a quick reminder of letter sounds here is a quick check list in the box to your right - some words end in the sound to help you isolate the sound you will be modeling for your child. Some letters have more than one sound, but at this stage we just introduce the first sound of a letter.

What letters do you teach first?

Here are some examples of how others teach letter order:

Alphabetical Order: Although knowing letters 'in' and 'out' of order is important, the main disadvantage of this method, is that a child is waiting a long time before they can start to read words with the letters they have learnt. You really can't read or write many words with the letter a,b,c,d,e

Random Order: For example, choosing letters of a child's name or family members can help give meaning to letters

Vowels: These are the letters, 'a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y'. Vowels are considered important because every word contains a vowel

Mixture of vowels and consonants: Consonants are all the letters which are not vowels. This way is often taught by phonic reading programs, such as Jolly Phonics. For example they start with the letters 's, a, t, i, n, p'. One of the benefits of this method is that a child is quickly able to 'read' and spell three letter words. These 6 alphabete letters make the following words:

Sat, tin, pin, pat, tap, tip, pit, sit, nit, nip, nap, pan

I personally choose to introduce a mixture of vowels and consonants, alongside teaching the alphabet song, so that they can see 'where in the alphabet' the letter they are learning fits into.

"I want means I want!"

2011-02-25T20:27:00.002+08:00

Sarah : I want!

Mummy : No!

Sarah : I say I want!

Mummy : No!

Sarah : I say I want means I want means I want!!!

Yes, sometimes I have to go through this kind of conversation with my little girl. And sometimes I (and daddy too!) can be shouting at her at the top of my lungs! Can you imagine my day with this girl? That's only few hours at night. How about Yeh-Yeh & Nai-Nai with her during the longer hours of the day? Hmmm... Nai-Nai says she behaves worst when mummy is around. (Sigh...) She'll be following me to school one day to join the playgroup. I sure hope and pray that things will get better!

On being obsessed with PINK!

2011-02-24T23:00:00.003+08:00

Not too sure whether to be worried of this... but my girl is really really obsessed with the colour PINK!

There were times when she just refused to wear any other colour pajamas except her pink colour one and I will just get so mad at her that I put her pink pj aside and lied to her that her pink pj is in the washing machine (just to get her to wear other pjs!)

She loves the colour pink and I dont think there is anything wrong with it. In fact, I am so happy to know that my lil girl is a decision maker and I am truly proud of her. She knows what she wants and she knows what she likes and there seem not a shadow of doubt from her about it too.

It's just that... sometimes, it just feels a lil "too much". Sometimes I feel so "stress" about it. Why? Because her other clothes were abandoned and seemed so "wasteful". Well, that's just about clothes.... but you aint seen it all yet! She's just obsessed over PINK that everything she owns has to be pink. Well, I cant deny that sometimes I too gave in to her "wants". sigh...

I got her a dress this evening... and because it is not pink (according to daddy), she rejected it. My heart a bit broken la, but... what to do?! I thought it was a sweet and pretty-looking dress and probably perfect to be worn for her coming birthday. Well, it has some pink elements on it, but it's not like a really pink dress. Hmmm... I guess I have to learn my lesson. Looks like I cant make her like what I like. As a child, she has every right to decide what she likes and what she doesn't. I can, to some extent, make some decisions for her and guide her to make the right decisions too, but in understanding her (as an individual), I know she has some very important rights that I must respect! So, OK... looks like more pinky stuffs are coming her way... (of course I will also teach her the beauty of all the colours so she will accept them too! :))

In loving memory of my daddy who is in heaven...

2011-02-24T22:30:00.002+08:00

Happy 10th Anniversary to Daddy!

It has been 10 long years and in those years, i graduated, earned my own living, got married and have a family of my own. Sometimes, i wished i could just be "daddy's little girl" again but life goes on.

I will always love you and cherish the moments we spent together. My children will learn and know that their grand-dad was a great man on earth! :)

The pix above was taken when he was a young college student (i think! hehe...). It's the only soft copy I have of him from my blogsite. Will hope to put up one of his latest photos later on :)

"OK, Thanks!"

2011-02-23T05:56:00.006+08:00

Mummy was tidying up the room a little when suddenly, lil Sarah came in, gave me an angry look and said sternly....

Sarah : Mummy, cheh-cheh spoil my pin! (As always, the little ones at home will have their usual rounds of accusations and "fights"... just part & parcel of being kids!)

Mummy : Hmmm....

Sarah : Mummy, fix for me OK? OK? Fix for me OK?

Looking at how determined she was, I just went along with the flow of things and said....

Mummy : Mmm! OK!

Sarah : OK! Thanks! (Yup! That's what she said... I normally taught her to say "thank u", not "thanks"... but, she learns it well just by listening to our daily conversations!)

She walked out, still looking a lil angry but glad that mummy was there to mend things for her....

I just smiled to myself. It was really such a funny sight. She just looked so cute and "kepo"! Wished I could record all these actions on video. Hehe!

"Because of Christmas Day....."

2011-02-18T06:08:00.003+08:00

Well, not a post about last year's Christmas or anything near that.... hehehe!

This is what happens when I ask Sarah (any) questions at all:

Mummy : Why you do that?

Sarah : Because of Christmas Day.... (singing to the tune of "Mary's Boy Child")

Mummy : Why are you so naughty?

Sarah : Because of Christmas Day....

Mummy : Asking questions that starts with "Why..."

Sarah : Because of Christmas Day....

Not too sure where she learn to answer like that, but it was really funny to get response like that from a 3-year old (soon to be :))!

And then I asked her...

Mummy : Where do you learn this?

Sarah : There.... the church one... outside the church one...

Mummy : O? You mean the song we sang in church?

Sarah : Yes! Outside the church one.... with cheh-cheh Andrea, cheh-cheh Ashley, Aunty Marilyn one.... wear the bear-bear one....

Okaaaay.... she has a really great memory! We had Christmas caroling last year and what she can remember, she explains it with her own words to me. At this stage, she understands that when you ask her a "why" question, the answer will bear a "because" at the beginning of the statement.

This lil princess is really growing up! I enjoy every bit of our conversations together. I was just thinking, we will both share a lot together later on when she grows up. I pray that our relationship will not stop at any stage but to grow as not just "mummy-daughter" but as "best-of-friends"! :)

Final Results Out!

2011-02-16T20:22:00.006+08:00

Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! "Roll the drums!"

The time has come when I got my final results for the course I took, ie Professional Diploma in Early Childhood Education. Very "professional" indeed! Hehehe! :)

2 months ago, I shouted out, "Merdeka!!!" cuz i completed my final exams and all my projects. I did not need to burn the midnight oil anymore to study and also to find time to complete my assignments which were always due week after week. It was almost hard to breathe at that time!

But now.... I turned and looked back and just breathe a sigh of relief. I am more happy now when I got my final results. I'm just beaming from ear to ear right now... :) Don't wanna boast but I think I did great! I'm undoubtedly happy that it's "sorta" over and I praise the LORD for being with me through it all!

Praise the Lord for an excellent results. My final result shows a CGPA of 3.75 and "Pass with Distinction" --> This will definitely appear on my cert later on! Looks like all the hard work pays off! :D

Neh... no mortar board for me this round... but it sure feels great to graduate from this course! :)

To God be the glory!

Journey to Learning Headstart Checklist

2011-01-07T16:50:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone!

I came across this interesting checklist for parents! Use this checklist and try not to miss any of them out as you journey your way as a proud parent of your child this year. Let us all move on to a greater year of parenting and I truly wish you the best! :)

Parents, do you:
 Read with your child daily?
 Play word games with your child?
 Encourage your child to speak clearly and avoid baby talk?
 Encourage your child to express himself/herself?
 Encourage your child to count things around the house
(i.e. spoons or forks on the table, cars on the street, etc.)?
 Make time to listen to your child?
 Monitor your child’s television viewing habits?
 Help your child learn about the following:
 Bathroom habits
 Putting toys away
 Hanging up clothes
 Getting dressed independently
 Listening and following directions
 Eating a good breakfast each morning
 Knowing when and how to use a tissue
 Fastening clothing and putting on boots
 Accepting responsibility by doing small tasks
 Going to bed early and getting a good night’s sleep

Does your child know:
 His/her first and last name?
 His/her address?
 His/her parents first and last names?
 His/her phone number?
 The shortest, safest way to the centre or the number of bus he/she takes to the centre?
 Safety habits - crossing streets, obeying traffic signs, not getting into cars with strangers
 Common courtesy and manners that promote the development of friendships and sharing?

Does your child know how to use the following fastening items:
 Zip?
 Tie?
 Button?
 Snap?

Last but not least, a little write-up by Robert Fulgham that clearly defines the true meaning
of early childhood education:

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Blessed New Year 2011!

2010-12-31T20:46:00.004+08:00

Counting down now.... for the new year of cuz! :)

Cant wait for the new year... new beginning... new everything!

Praise the LORD for all the great things He has done for me and all the great things He's been storing up for me... releasing them to me in due time. Kekeke!

We serve a GREAT GOD indeed!

Have a Blessed New Year 2011!!!

Exhibition at MITC

2010-12-24T12:11:00.002+08:00

Come come come! To see the smart pool n shades in melaka. Exhibition ends on 26th

My princess has grown tall! :)

2010-12-23T22:38:00.004+08:00

"I win! I win! I can put oredi!

I win! I win! I getting taller and taller oredi!

I win! I win!"

She was jumping up and down while chanting these words. I then realised she did just that the moment she could reach her hand to a pen which was on a 5-tier Toyogo drawers.

She was really beaming with joy and I was very glad to catch her doing so. She is really a tall tall girl now, and she is expressing pure joy knowing that she achieved something today! :)

What happens when you jump up and down with a scissors in your hand?

2010-12-23T21:25:00.004+08:00

Sarah was doing some paper-cutting... sort of art & craft... or more like just occupying her so I can do my own stuffs..... :p

..... but she started jumping on the bed with the scissors and lo and behold, mummy here was so angry that I started scolding her to stop and telling her how dangerous it is to jump with the scissors. She had this "educational talk" from me before so she understood every word I said... just that need some reminders....

..... our conversation went on like this after telling her how dangerous it was....

Mummy : If you get yourself hurt, mummy will be so sad you know?

Sarah : Then Sarah oso so sad....

Mummy : Yes, that's why when you have a scissors in your hand, don't walk around and jump around. OK? You will hurt yourself.

Sarah : Then me oso die already.... Then me oso got a lot of blood.... wek! (tongue sticking out...)

Mummy : (giggling softly...) Don't do it again, OK?

Sarah : OK...

In her lil pinky dress... & shoes!

2010-12-16T07:43:00.006+08:00

We were at a friend's wedding and I dressed her in her favourite colour - PINK!

My dear Little Ms Pink in "action"!

Upon seeing this picture, she asked me, "Why so many pink colour, pink colour one?"

LOL! Looks like she just realized how pink she was! And yes, check out every of her pix with her trade-mark pose! :)

Little Ms Pink

2010-11-27T14:52:00.007+08:00

I guess I have to change her nickname to Little Ms Pink from now on.... (just joking! :))

Well, the title speaks it all! She is just so "girl" now. Hahaha... When she was a little baby or at least when she was younger, ie below 1.5 years old, she seemed to like "boy's toys" such as cars, balls, etc... well, that was what I thought. Now, she has totally transformed into a "girl"! LOL! Not that she doesn't like cars or balls anymore but it's more like the choice of colours and toys are very much of a girl's. She now likes dolls, pretty nice hairclips (specifically pink coloured ones!) and she loves wearing skirt! It was unlike a few months ago, she was more of a "pants" person but now she likes wearing skirts... and it's not just any skirt. She likes skirts that could twirl easily and prettily!

Recently, we had some conversations regarding some things I should buy. The conversation went like this:

Situation 1

Sarah : Mummy, the ruler broken already...

Mummy : Broken? How did it break?

Sarah : (explaining with words + actions)...

I could't quite make up the words in perfect sentences but I understood what she meant :)

Mummy : Okayyy.... So how? Should mummy buy a new ruler?

Sarah : Mmmm! I want pink colour one!

Mummy : Ok... Mummy will buy you pink colour ruler! :)

Situation 2:

Mummy : I need to buy you a new toothbrush. See....

Sarah : Mmmm! Mummy buy for Sarah new toothbrush! I want pink colour one!

Mummy : Pink colour?

Sarah : Mmmm! Like kor-kor and cheh-cheh one!

Mummy : OK... Mummy will buy you pink colour toothbrush! :)

Situation 3:

Mummy : Girl, next time you have to sleep in your own room OK?

Sarah : Mmmm!

Mummy : You will sleep in your room. Mummy & Daddy will sleep in another room.

Sarah : Sarah's room pink colour!

Mummy : Yes, that's right! How about Mummy's room?

Sarah : Sarah's room pink colour. Mummy's room blue colour!

Yep! There you go.... that's little Ms Pink. She has turned into a lil pink princess
now. LOL! I guess she will have lots of pinky stuffs next time! :)

MERDEKA!!! FREEDOM!!!

2010-11-27T14:27:00.003+08:00

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo HAPPY! Finally, my 13 months course has come to an end... well, sort of... :p

Anyway, this is GOOD NEWS! I just finished my final paper.... awaiting results... it should be out by January... I guess... cuz for every semester's results, it has been delayed. So, am not too sure about this final sem's results. Anyway, I'm just so glad that this 13 months period has finally come to an end. I should be getting my Professional Diploma in Early Childhood Education by Jan/Feb 2011. Yippie! Can you see my grin??? Yep! Am smiling from ear to ear! Just so happy that I can move on and concentrate on other things.

My career has also taken another step up and there'll be so much more to do and learn in the coming year. There is no end to learning and in all honesty, I am enjoying every part of it! PRAISE GOD! :)

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my gracious Father in Heaven. I thank the LORD for all that He has done for me. I have also felt great favour upon my life, from different people around me. I know it is of God's intervention and grace that enabled me to walk this walk of faith, but yet full of challenges & excitement. I must say that the LORD is really so good to me that everything I went through and am going through has its purpose and I'm seeing pieces of jigsaw puzzles coming together. The work of art is beyond beauty. This master piece is something to give God glory for.

I'm truly thankful to God! And of course, not forgetting my hubby and my family - both my YEOs and my CHONGs! I'm really so blessed!!! :)

I also thank all my friends & colleagues & all that came into my life in different times of my life to be a blessing in one way or another. It's really beyond words could express... but hey, I'm really in this mood of gratitude... and so to all I know, you know who you are... THANK U! THANK U! THANK U! Lemme just give u a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGG HUGGGGGG! God bless!

More new words for little Sarah

2010-11-23T22:03:00.004+08:00

"You bathe first, so you can oi-oi with me...."

"I found my blanket already!"

"Tomorrow I wear skirt ar?"

"Tomorrow I can....(blablabla)!"

"Later you read to me, OK?!"

"Mummy, it's time to sleep already.... I off light ar?"

She's now using lots of "tomorrow", "later", "first" words... and she really seemed to use the words quite correctly too! I'm so proud of my little girl's ability to remember and use quite a large number of words and also form correct sentences at this stage.

Way to go, gal!

My busy busy busy month of Oct/Nov.

2010-11-23T20:28:00.006+08:00

WOW! It has really been awhile since I blogged anything here. I guess before I do pen down much more about my life, I'll just very briefly tell all of you readers that the reason why I have not been blogging was because I have been very much busy with soooooooooo many things. (duh! what's new la?! :p)

And I'm now in the midst of my exams actually... 5 papers this semester (my 3rd and final semester... YES!) It's 4 down and 1 more to go! Woo-hoo! Well, just to rewind a little bit... October was a really crazy month for me because of my assignments. In the midst of my wedding anniversary and later my birthday (all during the same month), I had to go through these tough moments of my "student" life. So, what's the celebration for me? To just stay at home and relax! Seriously, that was all I asked for during this time. I guess it has really taken a toll of me - both my studies & my work. It was like my "final race" and I'm like almost giving up! Err.. well, not really... but it does feel like it at times.

And so, it was assignment deadline + revision for exams + work... they are all really really coming to "attack" me all at one time. I was really "dying" mentally, emotionally & physically. However, in my spirit, I was really praying for God's strength to sustain me.

Just......

..... during the same week, I had 4 important and urgent things to be done... and it's not just about multi-tasking. But time was a real factor. For the assignments that were due for submission... I made sure I finished all by Tuesday which is to be handed in by Saturday. Then, I studied a little on Wednesday, but my mind was totally out of focus! I need to prepare myself for a briefing on Friday to the principals & teachers for our Cambridge for Young Learners Exams, which was to be held on Sunday! Well, a bit anxious cuz it was my first time supervising the exams. At the same time, it was Parents-Teachers Day on Saturday (same day as my uni exams), which I couldn't attend. So, during all the bz-ness, I also had to prepare for the Parents-Teachers Day - both administrative side as well as being a computer teacher side ie some prints to be ready to be given to the parents on the day. If I plan properly, it should have them all done by Thursday because Friday is meeting day and a very busy day.

So, thank God everything went as planned.... After the meeting on Friday, I rushed down to the CYL exam centre at our REAL kids Bkt Jelutong to meet the centre exam manager. She wanted to make sure that we have prepared the hall for the coming exams. And so, after the meeting, realized that there were some other things to be done and so me and some very nice colleagues stayed back to get the place ready. And after that, it was like PEAK HOURS for Federal Highway traffic! OK.... and so, went through the bad bad jam for awhile there before I decided to turn in to PJ and hang around in KFC at Jln University to study there for a good 2.5 hours. Apparently, there was an accident at Federal Highway which caused the traffic jam which was really really really BADDDD!

Anyway, the study was really fruitful. Left KFC at about 9.30pm. The next day was my exams. First paper was alright. Thank God I managed to study as much I can for that paper. So after goreng here and there, came the 2nd paper in the afternoon. I didn't manage to study for that subject as I didn't had the time. It only carries 20 marks for this paper as 80 marks is given for the assignments. Guess what? It was very easy and straight forward. All the students came out the hall after 15-20 min. Hehehe. I really do thank God that I didn't waste my time (or no time at all) studying for that subject! :)

So that's for my exams. After that, it was the YLE exams on Sunday. All in all, I thank God that everything went on smoothly. I thank God for His favour upon me. It was a great experience even though there were some glitches here and there, but I really learn a lot.

And so after that busy week, it was last week.... and now this week.... So, I thought let me just share with you guys what's been happening to me... now that I can breathe a little bit. There is really so much more to share, especially about my little girl, and of cuz my new job scope. Well, wait ya... i'll be BACK! :D

Temp working place @ McD

2010-10-14T18:00:00.003+08:00

2nd day in a row at McD...... i guess this is my temporary "working" place for now.... It is near home and it's got wifi and I could do my assignment here, without getting distracted.

Last night I came here after work and stayed here till almost 10pm to complete some tasks.... Today should be earlier (i hope!)....

So there you go... some "sound" from me.... Been really busy with my 3rd and final semester's assignments. This month is deadline month. Next month is exam month... So, again, I shall be too busy to blog or do anything else. Apart from that, I've been postponing lots of my "want & to-do list".... sigh.... Work has been hectic for me too.... I really need to draw strength from the Lord....

OK... my 5 minutes of writing this post is up! I need to start with my assignments once again.

Till then.... when I need a "break", I'll see you here again!

Just some updates....

2010-10-07T18:32:00.002+08:00

It has really really been a long time since I blogged... well, that's what I felt cuz I'm dying inside to blog blog blog but time is really not not not on my side. And I didn't even had time to kepo on other people's blogs too! Been really "out-dated" la...

I just got a "hand-me-down" laptop from hubby, since he has another new one already. So, I guess, we don't need to share laptop anymore :p

And because of that, I took the liberty to bring it to office to install some important program so I could bring it "back to life" since it's been reformatted!

Just installed google chrome... and I love it already. I think it's pretty cool. Yeah, perhaps I'm really really outdated, since it's been out there for some time already.... read a few comments... some good, some bad... some people had crashes and all, but I really hope that wont happen to me.... so far so good... Praise the Lord!

OK-la... gtg already.... back to doing my assignment.... seemed like a never ending task.

Till i see u again... when things are more settled on my end... when I get to complete much of my assignments and some of my workload as well.

Bubbaiiiiiiii.................

Ms Chatterbox

2010-09-13T17:10:00.008+08:00

She sometimes bosses around with meaningful sentences... be it a request, a reply to a question or just a statement she makes very frequently.

Sentences she makes (which I can recall right now) include:

1. You cannot sit here! Dirty!

2. You cannot eat so many! Take one only!
- Oh yes, she loves making the "you can... you cannot..." sentences which makes her qualify to be a bossy lil gal :)

3. I want one only. Not too much!

4. Mummy, you take one. Sarah take sooooooooooooo many!

5. Mummy, see.... Can balance! (She said this while playing with her blocks)

6. Mummy, play with me!

7. Mummy, throw the ball to me!

8. Mummy, you see.... So messy already!

9. Don't open first ar?! Wait for me...

10. I don't want small-small one. I want big one!

She talks a lot and I really find it cute of her to say things that now really make sense! Her vocabulary of words increases with time. And now, she uses prepositions like the words "to", "with" and "for" accurately.

Sometimes I cant believe how time flies and that my once little baby has grown to be a talkative little toddler! And I know soon, I will have strings of "Y" questions to answer!

Sarah loves playing puzzle... (at Month 29)

2010-09-02T16:43:00.003+08:00

Sarah enjoys playing puzzles. Recently I bought her a 48-pieces puzzle and she managed to finish it within an hour! Yep, without distractions that is!

As always, I gave her an assignment before my bath. So, I brought out a new puzzle for her (to occupy her) and took out half of it for her to fix... Lo and behold after my bath, I realised that she toppled everything over and so, she had to fix all 48-pieces!

I guessed I under-estimated her ability... She managed to fix the whole puzzle. I did help her here and there but she finished 80% on her own. I'm really proud of her!

The process....

Pix 1: Sarah's look of achievement! Can you see that in her face? :)

After that, we wanted to take the picture of all her collections.

She has some smaller puzzles which she started playing when she was about 22 months old and I did noticed that she loves playing and fixing puzzles even when she was so little! Therefore I took the liberty to buy her puzzles every now and then, from easy to difficult and she seemed to enjoy every process of it.

She's definitely "picture-smart"! :)

p/s - however, after all that's been said... we kept away her latest puzzle piece. You know why? She started getting lazy and doesnt want to fix the puzzle after messing them! Sigh... she's probably bored of it already, after playing with it 3x...

Sarah's not feeling well...

2010-08-30T12:44:00.003+08:00

Took leave today as MIL is "on-leave" as well... so, it's my turn to be the full time mummy at home today. Sarah is having her afternoon nap now... without having her lunch... she's been having poor appetite recently as she is suffering from bad stomach ache.

It started last Friday night when she started complaining of stomach pain. It was unusual of her to say that unless it is really painful. All 3 of us did not have a good night's rest that night. She kept complaining of stomach pain and later at 3am, she vomitted on the bed. After that, she slept through the night in the sarong. And both hubby and I had to sleep in the hall too as our bed was filled with vomit stench.

She was OK in general... meaning she still behave her normal naughty and mischievous self. Thank God she doesn't refuse milk, except that she refuses eating solids (rice or noodle) during meal times and she is currently still suffering from diarrhoe.

"Lord, I pray for little princess. Take away her stomach pain and diarrhoe and grant her good appetite for food as well as a healthy body. I pray for speedy recovery, in Jesus' name I pray - Amen!"

Lifecycle or life-cycle or life cycle?

2010-08-27T16:33:00.003+08:00

I am in the midst of writing my lesson plan for my science assignment... and obviously from the title of this post, the topic I chose is "Lifecycle of a.... Ladybug".

As I write and as I search for more information about this topic, my mind starts wondering about the "English" part of it... so, is it lifecycle or life-cycle or life cycle?

It's interesting to know that I'm not the only one who wonders about this... Anyway, i found this interesting reply in a website about this question...

What ever happened to the natural evolution of language? A compound generally starts open (life cycle), migrates to hyphenated (life-cycle), and ends up closed (lifecycle).

Many of us have been in the business long enough to remember when online help was on-line help or even "on line" help. Jeesh,when I was a kid, there was a hyphen in cooperation!

So, what do u think? Do anyone actually knows the answer? Or is there any answer at all? In my opinion, all 3 are acceptable, depending on who reads and evaluates it! ;)

Nursery Rhymes for Sarah (at Month 29)

2010-08-25T18:08:00.003+08:00

Before I took my bath, I made sure I gave Sarah some assignments to occupy her time. So, last night, I decided to ask her to read her Nursery Rhymes book, which she abandoned for some time due to her "new books".

Mummy: Girl, study this book, OK? Later Mummy ask you to sing to Mummy, OK?

Sarah: OK!

Mummy went into the bathroom, while Sarah sat down and "read"....

From where I was, I was giggling as I heard Sarah recited the "Baa, baa, black sheep" rhyme! And I peeped through the bathroom door and sang it with her. She stopped reciting and replied.....

Sarah: No! My song!

Mummy: OK, OK... you sing your song.... (Mummy continued her shower)

Sarah: Baa, baa, black sheep, "hair you meh mii moo"....
Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Three bags full!
Er ONE for my master, Er ONE for the dame,
Er ONE for the little boy who lives down the lane....

Conversation about the consequences of being naughty!

2010-08-25T16:02:00.007+08:00

Sarah made mummy angry last night and we ended up having this conversation in our bedroom:

Mummy: Sarah, do u know mummy is angry?

(Sarah nods head)

Mummy: Do you know why mummy is angry?

Sarah: Sarah naughty.

Mummy: When Sarah's naughty, what will mummy do?

Sarah: Mummy da-da (English: beat)

Mummy: Da-da use what?

Sarah: Cane....

Mummy: Who else will da-da Sarah when Sarah's naughty?

Sarah: Daddy da-da, Yeh-Yeh da-da, Nai-Nai da-da...

Mummy: Who else?

Sarah: Pek-Pek, Pek Niang, kor-kor, cheh-cheh..... giraffe....

LOL!

Hubby and I looked at each other and laughed out loud! It was really soooooooooo funny when suddenly giraffe's name was mentioned too in the "supposedly serious" conversation.

She's a really mischievous darling. Even though she makes me angry everyday (almost), she makes me smile at the same time! :)

Assignment season's BACK!

2010-08-12T17:45:00.003+08:00

It's assignment season again for me... and that means the 3rd and final semester's assignment! Few to submit this week, next week and every following weeks until end of September. Can't wait for my personal Merdeka!

And so... it's back to busy busy busy life for me as a student! Ta-ta!

Traffic jam at Federal Highway

2010-08-11T18:06:00.002+08:00

Today's traffic worst than other weeks. Prob due to first day of puasa. Am now blogging fr the car:-p

Sarah: OIC.....

2010-07-27T18:01:00.004+08:00

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...

2010-07-19T14:16:00.004+08:00

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:

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.
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...

2010-07-13T17:33:00.009+08:00

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"

2010-07-12T22:16:00.003+08:00

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!

2010-07-11T21:59:00.003+08:00

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...

2010-07-01T06:03:00.002+08:00

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! :)

[Article] Secrets of the Dog Tongue

2010-06-29T04:55:00.005+08:00

OK, there'll be times I would post interesting facts and articles (at least to me! :p) that I found (besides about children)... and here's one of those...

You see... before I teach my children at school, I must make sure that I get my facts right. I do hope that all teachers do that, which quite sadly to say, not many teachers I know actually bothers about educating children beyond what they have in their text books (sigh! :/) .... Anyway, the theme this round is "MY PETS". And so, after some browsing, I thought it was interesting to know and share that....:

What is the purpose of a dog tongue? Why does a dog stick out his tongue when he pants? Why worry about canine tongue injuries? Get the answers to these questions and more.

Why Write an Article About Tongues of Dogs?
I'll start by saying that many people have come to Pet Comfort Products looking for dog tongue. At first, I couldn't figure this out. Then I realized that people were using image search tools, such as Google image search, to find dog tongue pictures.

As it turns out, I have a nice picture of a dog on the dishes and bowls page on Pet Comfort Products. So, the mystery was solved. I now know why people are coming here to find dog tongue.

In light of this, I started doing a bunch of research on dog tongues. This is really an amazing topic and I think if you stick with me, you'll really appreciate the nuances and complexities of the dog tongue.

What is the Purpose of a Dog Tongue?
A dog tongue is a large mass of muscle that is found at the base of the dog's mouth. Primarily, it organizes and manipulates food for chewing and swallowing. Like a human tongue, it is the primary organ of taste and it is somewhat neurolgically associated with smell. The surface of the tongue is covered with taste buds and it's kept loose and moist by saliva. It is well supplied with nerves and blood vessels, making it one of the most important muscles of the dog's body.

In addition to lapping up water and food, a dog's tongue is a heat regulator. That is, when a dog runs around and gets hot, the tongue hangs out to cool them down. Most people don't know this, but a dog's tongue actually gets larger during exercise due to increased blood flow. In turn, when a dog pants, the dog's entire body is cooled off through evaporation.

How does this work exactly? The tongue gets larger and the dog will pant. These quick and shallow breaths will cause the wet dog tongue to evaporate moisture which in turn cools the dog's tongue. As blood flows through the tongue, the blood is cooled off. It is then transported to the rest of the body, which helps decreases the dog's body temperature.

By the way, this is why leaving your dog in the car is so dangerous. If your dog cannot cool off their tongue, they cannot cool off their entire body. This can translate to heat exhaustion or or other heat trauma. Provide your dog with cool air please!

Here's a quick list of other functions of a dog tongue:

Wound Healing Tool : A dog will lick wounds and facilitate healing to a point.
Texture Testing Tool : A dog will lick surfaces and materials to judge texture.
Affection Giving Tool : A dog will "kiss" their owners and provide affective.

Dog Tongue Injuries
Dog tongue injuries are not too common but accidents do occur. Commonly, a dog's tongue will injured during exercise or other realted exertion. Farm dogs, police dogs, and other work dogs are obviously most prone to tongue injuries. If your dog goes to doggie day care, be certain that there is good ventilation with cool air provided, especially if exercise is part of the routine.

If a dog's tongue is injured when hot, remember that blood flow is increased. This means that you need to watch for excessive bleeding. Be especially careful if the middle or back of the tongue is damaged. Be sure to help your dog cool down by providing a cool environment as quickly as possible.

Some dogs chew wood, glass or other breakable material. If their tongue gets stuck with a splinter or glass shard, it is important to seek help from a veterinary. Don't let this kind of injury go too long or your dog's tongue could become seriously infected.

Things to Consider
Dog tongues are really amazing. They are much more rich and complex than most people realize. Keep in mind that large dogs with large tongues have a need for different bowls and dishes. Obviously large dogs need larger bowls.

If you pay attention to your dog's tongue, you will learn a lot. You'll also be able to better understand the health of you good friend. Give your dog a hug for us!

Article taken from Pet Comfort Products.

After my 2nd term exams....

2010-06-27T07:59:00.002+08:00

Just a short update.... my exams are over (phew!) A relief because I can now have some peaceful sleep... Was quite exhausted after the exams due to not enough rest. Well, it's not that I've been up studying all night, but my mind was not rested. I couldnt fully focus on studying as I shared before. So, anyway, my exhaustion resulted in me catching the common cold last week. Had to be on MC on Thursday and thank God by Friday I'm really getting better.

Yesterday I was able to eat durians too! Thanks to my in-laws! Hehehe.... And my body was craving for junk foods, and I did have a share of that as well :p

How was my exams? I guess it was good for me as I think I was able to "kelentong" well in my essay questions. My only hope is that I did not go "way off" from the question. "Kelentong" power is the key to success! Hahahaha! I guess blogging helps in shaping this skill. :)

One weekend off and after that, next Saturday, my first class for the 3rd semester starts. Oh, what a drag! OK-la... would really love to update more about my life, but as for now, I really need to get ready for church! Have a pleasant Sunday!

[Article] Colour Meaning

2010-06-15T09:47:00.004+08:00

Since my interest about knowing the colour representations grew after watching Sarah "coloured" our family members, I decided to do a google search on colour representations and I find this article rather interesting....

Article taken from http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Red

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags.
Red brings text and images to the foreground. Use it as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect color for 'Buy Now' or 'Click Here' buttons on Internet banners and websites. In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings (red lips, red nails, red-light districts, 'Lady in Red', etc). Red is widely used to indicate danger (high voltage signs, traffic lights). This color is also commonly associated with energy, so you can use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, items related to sports and high physical activity.

Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.

Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.

Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.

Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Orange

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.
Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.

Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.

Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.

Yellow

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.
Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote children's products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, 'childish' color, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men – nobody will buy a yellow business suit or a yellow Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light yellow tends to disappear into white, so it usually needs a dark color to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.

Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.

Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.

Green

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.
Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the color of free passage in road traffic.
Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products. Green is directly related to nature, so you can use it to promote 'green' products. Dull, darker green is commonly associated with money, the financial world, banking, and Wall Street.

Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.

Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.

Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.

Olive green is the traditional color of peace.

Blue

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.
You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech products.
Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.
Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite. When used together with warm colors like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example, blue-yellow-red is a perfect color scheme for a superhero.

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.

Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

Purple

Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
According to surveys, almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors. Purple is a very rare color in nature; some people consider it to be artificial.
Light purple is a good choice for a feminine design. You can use bright purple when promoting children's products.

Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.

Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.

White

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.
White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.
In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness because it's the color of snow. You can use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate color for charitable organizations; angels are usually imagined wearing white clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products. White is often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products.

Black

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.
Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background diminishes readability. A black suit or dress can make you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can use a black or gray background to make the other colors stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colors – black gives a very aggressive color scheme.

Drawing the Family... (at Month 23+)

2010-06-15T07:37:00.006+08:00

Another interesting thing that took place in Sarah's drawing ventures was to represent our family members with colours!

This was also another incident that took place right before my eyes and I was thrilled to see how the whole process went. We were in our bedroom and I gave her some crayons and papers for her to scribble. And just for the sake of asking :p, I asked her to draw "Sarah", and then I asked her to draw "Mummy", and then "Daddy". For each member, she used different colours to draw lines. And then of course, I repeatedly asked her to draw "Sarah", "Mummy" and "Daddy". One thing that struck me was she took the same colour each time to draw each one of us!

Orange represents "Sarah" and another shade of orange represents "Mummy".

Purple represents "Daddy".

Another 2 very very distinct characters are "Pek-Pek" - blue; and "Pek Niang" - pink.

As for others... I'm just sorry to say that perhaps Mummy's enthusiasm bore Sarah at that time.

I kept asking her to draw this and that repeatedly until she decided to stop drawing and play other things. :p

Few weeks later, I decided to "test" Sarah again on the colour representation. And guess what? She picked the same colour to colour each one of us. I'm seriously amazed with what she did. She's really seeing different people in different colours and that really made me want to study further about this child's development... the colour representation of people. Interesting, isnt it?

[+video] Draw-A-Person... (at Month 26+)

2010-06-15T07:20:00.005+08:00

"... eye.... eye.... nose.... mouth.... hand.... hand.... leg.... leg..." As she draws, she says these words as well. I couldn't help noticing her actions and found her literally drawing pictures of a human being. Not one, but many of them! She would say she draws "people". But sometimes, if you ask her what she is drawing, she would say "dinosaur" or "autobots"! :)

I took this video about 2 weeks ago. Enjoy.....!

And these are the products of her drawings!

Nice piece of art, eh? :)

That's one BIG head with "eyes and mouth". 2 lines sticking out horizontally which represents the "hands" and 2 vertical lines which represents the "legs".

For some drawing, she added the "hair" as well!

This is really so so cool! I really find this interesting! :)

DAP

2010-06-14T13:13:00.003+08:00

Gotcha!!! But no, am not into politics right now... hehehe.

In my first semester, my lecturer for "Arts for Children" did touch a little about what a child would draw by stages. And it appeared more real to me now when I first witness this "truth" through Sarah's drawing of a human being. It really made some sense to me now! :)

DAP stands for "Draw-A-Person" and according to wiki:

The Draw-A-Person Test (DAP, DAP test, or Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Person Test) is a psychological projective personality or cognitive test used to evaluate children and adolescents for a variety of purposes.

I never knew this test actually exist until I had this sudden interest to know more about the development of my little girl when she started to learn to draw a person. I find it really amusing and I am in total pride when I saw the first "human-drawing" drawn by my little girl... I'll share more about this when I manage to sort the pix I took this morning :)

In the meantime, allow me to share with you some findings I had with DAP. One of the articles I read which gives much information is found here.

"...... The way the kids draw the person determines at what mental developmental stage they are at. You can pretty much test for intelligence with a simple drawing. At the age of 3, kids start to draw circles and lines, but usually can't really make a stick figure look like a person. At the age of 4, they are supposed to start drawing people more like we're used to: head, arms, legs. But at the age of 4 (mental age of 4) most kids draw the arms and legs coming out of their heads - no body. Jakub didn't do this. His picture had a body. Even in the picture above - drawn when he was 4 months shy of four, Jakub drew a body. The doctor said that this was an indication that his mental development stage is more like a 5 year old rather than a 4 year old (I always knew my son was smart :)). At the age of 5, children start drawing bodies, arms and legs coming from the bodies. Then, between 5 and 5.5, kids start to draw more detail, including 3 fingers (not 5), clothes, etc....."

Check out more about this test as you type "DAP test" on google search. You will surely find lots of interesting stuff relating to this study. I definitely found this interesting!

2nd term exams!!!! Pray for me, ya?!

2010-06-11T13:10:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow's the start of my 2nd term exams.... nothing more than just a paper for me to "goreng". I do pray for wisdom to answer the questions correctly. Not too sure why but I've been in this terrible state of rebelling... against studies that is... the mood is just not right. I do my revision every day but sometimes, the mind is just telling me "enough is enough".... Maybe I'm too old for all these :p

Anyway, life goes on... I'll be facing my 2nd term papers tomorrow and next week. I just pray for God's guidance and especially for me to have the right focus. My focus is just not there and I get distracted pretty easily this time (worst than before). I didnt wake up earlier than I planned to and even in the evening, I didnt spend as much quality time revising than I have hoped for.

OK-la... for now. Gonna have lunch and later back to work!

Sarah's bath time = play time

2010-06-02T18:05:00.004+08:00

Sarah loves bath time because that's play time for her as well. We call that "water play". Dont underestimate bath times with your little ones because it is during these times that they learn so many things about themselves, ie parts of their body, listening to instructions like "look up!", "wash your neck", "left leg up", "right leg up", "armpit!", "tongue", etc... :p They learn lots about maths & science! If they have cups, they can learn to measure and develop other fine motor skills like scooping water from one cup to another using a spoon... well, Sarah loves that activity a LOT!

Recently, I bought for her the IKEA's stacking cups. I've been wanting to get that or something similar for a long time but at one point of time, I couldn't find them at all. I particularly like the IKEA cups because besides being reasonable in price (only RM6.90/set), they are colourful and each cup has different patterns and number of holes in them. That made water play interesting!

I normally vary the toys so that she will learn different things from time to time. In my in laws place, there are some cups, ducks and frog in there. She likes to squeeze the frog in the water and that made some "glup, glup" sound, and she would smile and tell me, "got sound..." after that, she would take the water-filled frog and squeeze it hard so the water would be released through its mouth. She enjoys doing that and could do that many many times until mummy needs to "force" her out of the bathroom.

Anyhow, I would try my best to make it an enjoyable moment for her whenever I had the chance to bathe her. At times during the weekend, if she behaves well during the day, I will allow her to use the bath tub and extend her bath time so she can play a little bit more... just to reward her! Now that she learns about punishment and reward, this seems to work pretty well for us! :)

[+video] Doe, a deer, a female deer....

2010-06-01T19:00:00.007+08:00

Check out our lil singer!
Sorry... this was taken at night in the car... don't mind the video, just enjoy the music! :)
This song is one of our favourites!
And pls forgive me... my pitch lari sikit! Cannot reach the note la.... :p

And recently.... thanks to ah ee, now, Sarah has another favourite - "The Barney song: I love you, you love me"

Yippie! No need to drive to work! :)

2010-06-01T18:31:00.002+08:00

Am so happy.... today, I got my driver to send me to work. kekeke... yeah, u guys might think rachel is siao oredi... but, yeah... just missing that nice feeling of not needing to drive myself to work... it made half of my day! :p

So now, since I'm waiting for my driver to pick me up from office, I might as well do some blogging... :p

Priority... to blog or not?

2010-05-28T15:01:00.003+08:00

Well well well.... looks like i'm pretty bad bad bad with keeping my words, ie to get myself back into blogging all my life's updates! :p And time is just ticking! It will be yet again another busy moment that is to study for my coming exams which is about 2 weeks from now! And I need to cover as much as I possibly can.

Nowadays, I dont wake up as early as I planned to... 4.30am? to blog?! dont know why... guessed that my mind just tells my body that there is nothing "urgent" to do... no deadlines!, and so, the body should just stay asleep till later, and I've been doing that literally.

However, today is a public holiday... and I'm taking some time off to blog :D I'm supposed to be taking my afternoon nap since lil Sarah is taking hers... and so are the rest in the family. Sigh... so torn in between... cuz my room is in dire need of some tidying as well! So, what's priority? Hmm... *think think think*

OK... Have decided to tidy up my room after this post! Here's me making some noise in my blog, but apart from this, I think I really need to postpone this blogging activity till I'm done with my earlier plan in tidying up my room. Adios for now!

Blogging.... and the list goes on.... and on... and on....

2010-05-13T18:53:00.005+08:00

And so...... it's honeymoon week for me before I start burning the midnight oil again to study for my coming exams. And I have a list of things to blog about during this time... let's see....

1. Sarah's 2 year-old birthday celebration

2. Sarah's developmental milestones... tonnes of them!

3. My assignments since Sem 1 (including all the photos of my assignments & projects! hehe...).... hmm... now gonna finish Sem 2 oredi!

4. My exam results :p

5. My school's field trip to the Zoo - Butterfly Garden

6. My recent outing with other principals to horse riding club in Demai Alam

7. Pix during my last day with my lecturer

8. Sarah's potty-training journey

9. Mother's day in Ikea

10. And of course... my life's journey here & there.... and whatever that comes!

After this, i will have some stuff to blog about my weekend... woaw! this list is not gonna end ler... :p

I've actually planned to wake up earlier every morning to blog a little bit or at least sort the photos that are piling up in the computer! So much to do indeed! But then... the body is just resisting that wake-up call... hope to do so sooner or later though :p

OK-la... that's all for now... catch up soon!

I'm DONE! Yippie!

2010-05-08T06:29:00.004+08:00

Yey! I have officially completed my assignments at 6.25am.... Now, preparing to print. :)

After that, I can lepak awhile before I head off for classes! So happy! Du-du-du!

[UM] Last Day... & Music Practical

2010-05-08T04:34:00.004+08:00

I'm up at 4.10 this morning to complete my final assignment for the semester... YIPPIE! Today's my last class for the semester, after which I have to get prepared for the written exams in June.

Today is also my music practical assessment. That means, solo singing and for group assg, it's percussion presentation & movement presentation. Gotta go for class earlier later to practice with the group... yet another long day for me today! Pray for me and wish me the best! :)

[REAL] Field Trip to Butterfly Garden - Part 1

2010-05-07T16:41:00.004+08:00

And so.... here's ME.... during my school's field trip to the Butterfly Garden in Zoo Negara last Friday!

I've many more pix to post, but wait till after this Saturday... hehehe... :)

Sarah's ONE BIG TOY! :)

2010-05-07T16:15:00.006+08:00

Last Sunday, gwamma gave Sarah her "big toy"... all the way from China! Yeah, literally... Gwamma & Unc David went to China for a holiday and gwamma bought this big fella for Sarah. Hehe... it's really very cute! Check this out...

Check out previous post about ONE BIG TOY!

Distracted.....

2010-05-07T05:01:00.003+08:00

I was up since 4am this morning but was reading my bloggy pal's blog posts and looking at pix in FB since then.... oh boy.... now, i'm back to focusing on the right subject, ie finishing up my final assignment for the semester. Yippie!

After this, I will take some time to update my blog (before I get busy again with studying for my exams in June). I'm still owing it lots of stories and pix...

OK-la... time to complete my assignment!

In the meantime... Here's wishing all mothers a very Happy Mother's Day! Have a nice weekend to all of you! Remember to treat your mummies & mummies of your kids well, ya?! :)

[Article] Lack of Sleep Linked to Early Death

2010-05-06T16:43:00.004+08:00

I've been having only about an average of 5-6 hours of sleep daily. Nowadays... ever since my busy moments of assignments, I wake up at 4+. My alarm would trigger at 4am... If too tired, I'll keep snoozing till about 5.30am :p, but that would mean a maximum of 6 hours of sleep a day. When work or studies call, sometimes I've got no choice... and when I look at hubby and lil Sarah sound asleep, am a lil envious actually. However, it's kinda routine now to wake up earlier. If not, it feels like I'm missing something... hmm... but now, reading this article make me think twice about having that lack of sleep... :/

Lack of sleep linked to early death: study
Wed May 5, 9:44 am ET

Article taken from yahoo news.

LONDON (AFP) – People who get less than six hours sleep per night have an increased risk of dying prematurely, researchers said on Wednesday.

Those who slumbered for less than that amount of time were 12 percent more likely to die early, though researchers also found a link between sleeping more than nine hours and premature death.

"If you sleep little, you can develop diabetes, obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol," Francesco Cappuccio, who led research on the subject at Britain's University of Warwick, told AFP.

The study, conducted with the Federico II University in Naples, Italy, aggregated decade-long studies from around the world involving more than 1.3 million people and found "unequivocal evidence of the direct link" between lack of sleep and premature death.

"We think that the relation between little sleep and illness is due to a series of hormonal and metabolical mechanisms," Cappuccio said.

The findings of the study were published in the Sleep journal.

Cappuccio believes the duration of sleep is a public health issue and should be considered as a behavioural risk factor by doctors.

Society pushes us to sleep less and less," Cappuccio said, adding that about 20 percent of the population in the United States and Britain sleeps less than five hours.

Sleeping less than six hours is "more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift work"

The study also found a link between sleeping more than nine hours per night and premature death, but Cappuccio said oversleeping is more likely to be an effect of illness, rather than a cause.

"Doctors never ask how much one sleeps, but that could be an indicator that something is wrong," said Cappuccio, who heads the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the University of Warwick.

Research showed no adverse effects for those sleeping between six and eight hours per day.

Field trip

2010-04-30T05:43:00.003+08:00

Can't remember when was the last time I went for a field trip... perhaps it was during my secondary school days. But I could remember how excited I was during that time.

Well, today will be my very first field trip in my school and am so excited about it. Hehehe... Feeling like a kid myself! :D I even woke up before the alarm rang... afraid I'd oversleep :p

OK-la... Will take lots of pix and update here later... Chiaoz!

[News] 9-month-old baby chokes to death on fish ball

2010-04-20T13:26:00.005+08:00

2010/04/14
TAMPIN: A 9-month-old baby choked on a fish ball and died while being fed by a caretaker at a nursery in Jalan Cantik near the Tampin Hospital yesterday.

Wan Nur Alif Wan Arif Fadhla was sent by his parents to the nursery at 7.30am, but two hours later, he was believed to have choked on the fish ball the size of an adult's thumb.He was immediately rushed to the hospital some 50 metres away but was pronounced dead on arrival.The baby's father, Wan Arif Fadhla Wan Yusof, 41, said he received a call from his wife, Nur Azita Ibrahim, 31, at about 11.15am, informing him of the incident."My wife is a school teacher and she called me from the school, saying that our son had been admitted to the hospital."When I arrived at the hospital, I was told that my son had died. He had choked on a fish ball and was unable to breathe," said Wan Arif Fadhla, a civil servant.

He said he was very disappointed that the nursery staff had not cut fish ball into small pieces before feeding it to Wan Nur Alif. Wan Arif Fadhla said he had lodged a report at the Tampin police station.Wan Nur Alif will be buried at the Muslim cemetery in Kampung Pulau Kerengga in Marang, Terangganu.Tampin police chief Superintendent Wooi Hooi Cheng said the nursery staff would be questioned pertaining to the incident.When contacted, an officer of a district Welfare Department said a probe would be conducted.The officer also said the nursery had been in operation for many years.

News article taken from NST

This is a totally devastating news of what a nursery could do to a child. That is why it is extremely important to know inside out of the place we sent our children to whether it is a daycare, a nursery, a kindergarten, etc. We must do all the necessary checkings to ensure the safety of our children. Do they have the basic knowledge of childcare and education? Do they have the basic knowledge of health & safety for these little ones? Does the centre provide a safe environment for these little ones? Well, for this case, I don't know what the caretaker is thinking, but giving a fish ball? to a 9-month old baby? My goodness! I think this caretaker is really insane!

ONE BIG TOY!

2010-04-17T06:38:00.006+08:00

Every now and then both Mummy and Gwamma will be on SMS/MMS about little Sarah. This time, the voice message went like this:

"Sarah's photo so cute-ah? So lovely... Next time gwamma buy you ONE BIG TOY, ok?

Then you can hold the toy everyday-ya? Remember gwamma-ya? Bubbai...."

Sarah loved the sms... she seemed to understand every word gwamma said. She kept asking me to play it back for her and she looked very happy just listening to it. You'd agree with me when you watch the video clips. She didnt get tired listening to it even after many many times! :)

A little bit of Sarah to brighten up your day! :)

2010-04-15T20:29:00.003+08:00

This is Sarah... in her normal mischievous look.

I was just testing something on my camera and she gave me pose #1. Yes, she was all sweating when I took that pix. After that pose, she said she wanted to take pix with giraffe. And then she took little giraffe with her and gave me pose #2....

And then mummy told Sarah that she didnt look nice with that mouth, asked her to hug giraffe and smiled... so, she gave me pose #3. Hehe... yes, that look was perfect! :)

He made it POSSIBLE for me to complete my assignments on time!

2010-04-13T05:23:00.009+08:00

This week is not so stressful for me as my next assignment deadline is 2 weeks from now... :p Well, cannot really lepak also because there are 3 assignments to complete and I really dread the idea of not being able to complete it on time, or rather I know that I WILL definitely complete all the assignments given, but with less sleep or no sleep at all!

2 weeks ago I managed to complete the most challenging assignment in this course (thus far) - Mathematics for Children! It was an assignment whereby I had to prepare 10 lesson plans with 30 activities in total (all about pre-numbers). I had to get the whole activities done with 3-4 kindergarten aged children, had it video recorded and do the necessary editing and submit the lesson plans write-up together with the dvd. What made it so challenging for me was because time was really not on my side. When the lecturer gave the assignment, she told us that we have more than enough time to do it... hmmm... not really.... counting the hours of a full-time job + being a mummy at home + having to prepare teaching materials for the next class + rest, it's super duper challenging to do enough research, get materials ready, get the "right" children involve, get the shooting and editing done, do the write-up, etc... PLUS we had another 2 assignments and some smaller assignments to submit on that day. Crazy, aint it?

Well, it's all over and I thank God that everything went quite smooth. Praise the Lord for that! I took permission from my Principal to do my assignments during working hours. I had no choice. The time I estimated that's needed to complete all my assignments on time would include the hours I have at work too. My Principal was very kind to allow me to do that. Working in a kindi also allows me to get in touch with children and I managed to get 3 kids who stay nearby the kindi to be my assignment students! Thank God their parents are willing to let me have them. Of course, I prepared some cakes and simple goodies for the kids during the 3-days shooting. My Principal was my videographer! Hehehe... So I had everything taken care of. She even gave me ideas and advices about the do's and dont's of some of the activities I prepared... so, sometimes we had to re-shoot and get the kids to re-do certain things. And btw, they are good "actors" I'd say! Hehehe... So, I thank God that I managed to complete all the assignments.

Some of my coursemates shared about the difficult children they had and how difficult it was to even finish 3 activities with them, or how my partner in class had done the shooting but only to find that the files got corrupted at the end and had to re-shoot. There were so many possibilities of the worst that could take place, and I really dread of that to happen... but all I can say is THANK GOD! He's made everything beautiful for me. On the Saturday when I had to submit the assignment, I had to skip my first class as I only managed to complete my write-up by about 8.30am. I did not sleep at all that morning. I had my assignment bound by 10.30 and reached UM by 10.45. I almost met with an accident with 2 cars and almost hit the highway divider as I drove cause I dozed off without any warning. It was really my first encounter dozing off just like that! A horrible experience! I was praying super hard on that morning for His divine protection. THANK GOD everything worked fine. GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

I also must thank my hubby and in-laws for taking care of Sarah during this period. Not only that, but I must say that I am in a very fortunate situation where my in-laws took care of all the cooking and cleaning at home that I am freed to do my studies. It is NOT possible if this weren't the case. God bless them for being such great blessing to me!

(P/S - don't know what's wrong with blog-posting... I cant even get the paragraph formatted properly! ish!)

Just a lil update...

2010-04-06T06:10:00.004+08:00

4-5 am is almost my regular waking up time in the morning to do my assignments or prepare for work... last week was worst as I had to wake up about 3am at times to do my assignments. It's truly a very very very challenging phase for me in my studies. Last Saturday was the submission of one of my super major assignment.... will talk more about that later.... for now, just some bits and pieces about my life! :p

March - April month seem to pass by sooooooooooooo quickly! It was Sarah's birthday on 15 March.... I havent had the chance to wish her Happy Birthday in this blog too.... no time to also sort the photos taken during the celebration.... Will do so after this week hopefully.... cuz I have to submit another 3 assignments this week. Crazy aint it? I really do hope I know why I'm going through all these now... Sometimes it seemed so unworth it... the feeling of giving up is there... but I really have to strive on. There's no turning back.... I'm moving ahead... :)

OK, gotta get myself prepared for work.... if I need a break later this evening, I guess I'll pen down more about my assignments in this blog, so all of you can empathize with me. LOL!

This morning I also took the liberty to read my blog-pal’s posts…. So many to read as it seemed like ages since I read it. Anyway, great to ke-po again in one’s life…. Keep it up, dudes!

My busy "life" and the victims of it!

2010-03-08T18:02:00.001+08:00

It's been yet again another phase of "busy life" that I am going through at this moment. It's all about work and studies mainly that took so much of my time away that I can hardly spend time with my family or even walk with the Lord.

Currently, am still serving in the worship ministry as well as involve in cell. In one way or another, it's helping me to keep my feet standing on "holy ground" :p

Almost everyday I wake up early in the morning, sometimes earlier than usual so I could prepare myself better (for my work or studies)... but very rare that I would wake up earlier to spend time with God... I'm so sorry, Lord :( ...what more to get myself out of the bed earlier to blog!

Both hubby and lil Sarah are also victim of my "busy-ness"... For the past one week, Sarah has been "n-a-u-*-*-*-*"... No, it's not a cursed word or anything, but I told myself not to call her that too often as I really must proclaim good behaviour in her. (In Jesus' name - AMEN!) Anyway, she's been sleeping later than usual and she'll be jumping up and down the bed, walking here and there, singing songs, talking to herself, etc etc... just making it harder for me to sleep. All I did for 3 nights was to scold her and make her cry to sleep. You see... I was really too tired to think properly... or rather to educate properly. After the 3rd night, as she continues her "routine", I decided to turn to the Lord.... (why didnt I think of that earlier??!)... prayed for her... and hugged her like I always did... and told her nicely to sleep... Minutes later, she slept... and I slept...

Power of prayer, ya? But what I also realized was that she did all that to get my attention and thinking of that made me just want to slap my face! I have lacked in spending quality time with her and thus, her misbehaviour. I thank the Lord that I learn to run to Him and He gave me wisdom to handle situations. I also must thank my boss for reminding me of this "weapon" in handling difficult children. She said, "Pray... and you'll see results". I shared to her about the challenge I faced when I'm to handle the children in class and especially those that are really difficult and just wouldn't care to listen. Sometimes, the frustration I faced made me think twice of this path I've chosen... Anyways, God knows why I am in where I am and do what I am doing... I know I am learning a lot everyday and the experiences are somewhat far beyond money can buy... The experiences I have with the children, and most importantly, the experiences I have with my little princess.

So much things to share... really... but time aint on my side. I wrote this post a week ago, but only managed to post it today... cuz... I did not finish writing then... *duh!* :)

OK-lah.... back to studies.... it's past my working hours actually but I'm here to study a little bit before I head off for home. My little girl's waiting for me I know... I could now imagine her giving me her cheeky smile and calling for me to "pao-pao" her.

I'll still blog a little bit here and there just to release tension... Second semester is really no joke for me. The lecturers this time are more 'demanding' compared to the 1st. Assignments are not just a one-time thing which is to be submitted by end of semester but for certain subjects, submission of assignments is a weekly thing. I really need to draw strength from my Lord.

[Article] Two Simple Ways to Be a Happier Parent

2010-03-04T12:52:00.004+08:00

Article taken from here!

When Christine Carter became a parent, she realized that her work as a sociologist who studies happiness gave her a head start on being a good and happy parent. Rather than trying to solve problems in her family, she wanted to prevent them. That got her wondering what makes for happy families and children. The result of that questioning is Raising Happiness (Ballantine Books).

The book is chock-full of words—gratitude, forgiveness, optimism, and inner peace—I associate more with meditation than parenting manuals. But it's not at all woo-woo. Carter grounds her path to happiness in solid science, including behavioral psychology, which explains why praise is much more powerful in getting children to behave than punishment or nagging. Many of the findings are surprisingly simple. For instance, would you like to know the one thing that will make children do better in school, help them have fewer emotional problems, and make them less likely to become obese or have drug or alcohol problems? Eat dinner together as a family.

Science and simplicity in the service of happier families: That sounds like a winner. So I called up Carter, executive director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California-Berkeley, and asked her how I could start making my own family happier.

She said to start off by asking two questions about your life as a parent:

1. When are you happiest with your kids?

2. What part of the normal day with your family routinely causes suffering?

Then make sure your day is structured so that you get routine, habitual happiness and so that you're eliminating habitual pain.

Carter says that when she asked herself the second question, she realized that she hated getting her two daughters out the door for school. "Every single morning I was yelling at my kids [at] approximately the same time and for the same reason," she says.

So she decided to restructure those mornings so they'd be a shared joy, or at least neutral. The science of changing habits says you have to start off supersmall and build over weeks to a bigger result. So she had the kids put their shoes by the door the night before. In the morning, "I ended up setting a timer," Carter says. "It goes off twice. The first time it goes off, it means clear your dishes and go brush your teeth. The second is walk out the door to the bus." By the next morning, she says, "we didn't have such a bad morning. We had taken the first step."

Just as she changed the family's daily routine to make that one stressful period less miserable, Carter also focused on amplifying the moment that gives her the most joy in parenting. "For me, the most joy always comes at the end of the day when I'm putting the kids to bed" and they're telling me about their three good things [that happened in the day]. That's my most luscious thing, the thing I enjoy the most." To make sure that she didn't miss out on that moment when she had to work in the evenings, "we just moved [that bedtime routine] to after school. They sit on the couch with me and cuddle, and we read a book and they tell me about their three good things."

Carter says that despite her deep knowledge of the science of happiness, she doesn't always do the right thing as a parent. "It's part of the journey, an incremental improvement process. But it's amazing to me how much this stuff works when you have the intention to have a happier morning," she says.

That's my challenge for the week: Make a happy moment with my child part of our routine, and engineer out one annoying bit of parenting. And I challenge you do to the same, too. What will be your happiness moment? What suffering will you avoid?

[+video] Sarah loves fixing puzzle...

2010-02-19T13:27:00.004+08:00

One of the activities that keeps Sarah busy while I was busy as well is fixing the puzzle.

My mischievous darling...

2010-02-18T19:00:00.007+08:00

Sarah's vocabulary increased by the days, and not just that, but seemed that she learns to structure sentences quite well too. She seemed to understand a lot.... and I mean, A LOT! The words she uses fits to the situation quite well and she even replies to my questions quite correctly. I am so proud of my little one who is turning 2 in a few weeks time... :)

This Chinese New Year, she wishes with the correct pronunciation : "Happy New Year" or "Gong Xi Fa Chai". However, if you'd like to hear her say all those... you have to wait till her mood is right. Else, i'm sorry to say that you might have to wait till another year! Hehehe!

Sarah's a real talkative girl... she speaks almost non-stop and she sings non-stop too. Sometimes I just laughed watching her talk and sing to herself.

She's such a darling... a very mischievous darling!

CNY 2010...

2010-02-18T13:28:00.009+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year & Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Hehehe.... can't deny that my wishes came a lil late but better late than never, kan?

It's the 5th day of CNY... Sarah's having her afternoon nap (finally!)... and I have now some time to update me blog! :)

Sooooooooooooooooooooo many things to share yet don't know where to begin. Anyway, perhaps, I'll start off now by putting up some pix of what took place during this CNY....

On the eve of CNY....

Ee-por from Selayang made these dresses for the little girls - Sarah & Reanne. They both wore the same dress on the eve of CNY when we had the reunion dinner at another ee-por's place.

Big bro Ivan wouldn't miss the fun in taking photos as well. ;o)

The 3 cousins had fun together... with their ah ku's pet dog, Jo-Jo. So "ho-miah" this dog... got new year baju some more! kekeke...

This year, CNY eve was also ee-por's birthday. A double celebration for birthday as we celebrated cousin Reanne's 2nd birthday as well! :)

On the day of CNY... & Valentine's day....

Here's Sarah wearing a Korean dress - given by gwamma. She looked so so adorable, does't she? But well, it was pretty tough to take a good shot of her on that dress as she couldnt stand or sit still for even a second!

We had lunch at Pizza Hut... just the 3 of us. CNY lunch cum Valentine's Day... We ordered the Golden Fortune Cheesy Crown Pizza... felt totally cheated as it really didn't taste as good as I/we thought. It didnt look a bit like the picture below.... sigh!

On the night of 1st day of CNY, we went to Uncle Philip's house for makan-makan. While the adults watch TV and fei-lo-ship, the kids played fireworks and "pop-pop" at the porch.

I had the opportunity to take pix and video of Sarah's 1st experience playing with fireworks.

She enjoyed it a lot!

And then the kids - Sarah & the Seah sisters spent some time posing in front of my camera... just for fun. Sarah... as you can see from the pix above, had fun really! :)

CNY in Melaka....

We spent CNY in Melaka on 2nd to the 4th day. Sarah had splendid time with kor-kor Paul. They somehow clicked together perfectly. On the other hand, Sarah feels pretty jealous over mei-mei Priscilla. Sarah's quite a bully towards this little one, especially when mummy here carries or plays with her.

Well, we really had a feast on all 3 days!
1st day - steamboat dinner in Uncle Robert's house

2nd day - lunch in Sushi King and dinner in McQuek's satay celup

3rd day - lunch at home with mummy's yummy home-cooked-food. We had pongteh, mixed vege, sambal udang, fried sotong balls and bak-kut-teh soup. Yummy-licious!

Hi! I'm BaCK! :p

2010-02-07T17:59:00.004+08:00

Yo yo yo! Am back into this blogging world!!!!!

But hope to be back for good... sigh... am still struggling to find time to blog... not just for the sake of blogging, but more for the sake of keeping a journal of my little girl's milestones as well as my personal life's journey, especially when it has really taken a turn ever since I took the courage to change the course of my career.

After my exams, though I am sorta "free" from my course books till the next semester which will begin after the CNY break, I'm still short of time. Have not been taking many pix of my little girl too... have not been faithfully keeping track of her progress... and I feel so bad about that... sob sob! When there IS time, I'll just do nothing but relax. Maybe a little too tired to think of anything... Additional to all these, before and after my exams, I wasn't feeling well and had to take medication to fight against flu and sorethroat. And to top all that, for the very first time in my life (i think! :p), my body reacted to an antibiotic that caused my face to itch and my face got all reddish. My skin started peeling as well! What can I say? "Ah-doi!"

OK-lah.... just a short post for now.... to announce that I'm BaCK! kekekeke.... see you all again soon... with more updates about my life! :)

[UM] Exams!!!! Pray for me, ya?!

2010-01-15T17:40:00.003+08:00

Hi!

Havent heard from me for some days/weeks ya?! You know why?

Been more than just busy.... and yes, my exams are coming... it's TOMORROW!!!!

So guys, gals.... PRAY FOR ME YA?! I really need the prayers. Pray for wisdom as I answer the papers tomorrow... and next Saturday!

2 papers tomorrow - Basic in Child Development (10am-12nn) and Philosophy on Early Childhood Education (2.30-4.30pm)

Another 2 papers next week - Basic in Language Arts (10am-12nn) and Art for Children (2.30-4.30pm)

Thank You Jesus for Your hands are always always always on me and I shall do well in these exams, in Jesus' name, I pray - AMEN! :)