Shower Your Children With Love - The Right Way

When I Grow Up

2009-07-06T20:39:00.005+08:00

This happened in the school, in a class, when the teacher asked the children to talk about their ambitions.

Wayne, being the playful, active, inattentive yet creative little guy, told the class that when he grows up, he wants to open a shop, a shop where he could fix toys and while talking about his BIG plan, he even got himself a helper! His best friend, a girl, told the class that she would help Wayne in his shop every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Gosh! Have you ever heard of anyone in your life wanting to be a TOY FIXER?

How Do You Talk To Your Children?

2009-06-28T09:00:00.000+08:00

How should parents talk to their children? It’s a skill which is not easy to master but once you get it right, it will be a great parenting tool.

I tried explaining but when I explain too much, it becomes nagging. When I nag, they don’t hear anything and they will not answer to any questions posted because they are not listening at all. I found out something to my disappointment. My children are very sensitive to several sentences as follows:

1. Do you understand? They would definitely say: YES
2. Why don’t you answer? They would definitely say: Yes, mummy?
3. Am I talking to the wall? They would quickly answer: NO, what is it, mummy?

This morning, I tried another method with Karl. While waiting for his transporter, I sprayed some mosquito repellent on his pants and shirt and accidentally sprayed his legs. He felt uncomfortable and was grumbling and showing his sour face. I was mad seeing his attitude but took a deep breath and asked him some questions:

Me: How do you feel when the spray went to your leg?

Him: Not comfortable.

Me: How long does this uncomfortable feelings last? A little while? Until now? Until you go to school or for the whole day?

Him: A little while. Feel better now.

Me: You have two choices. The first is to grumble and feel grouchy while feeling uncomfortable and suffer both bad feelings. The second is to feel calm and tell yourself that the uncomfortable feelings won’t last long and it will go away soon.

Me: You don’t have to accept what I say now. You try both methods, compare and decide if what I say is true. I’m not going to scold you but I’m going to talk to you like a mature boy.

He stopped and kept quiet. I hope this method works for him. Let’s see.

Bloggers' Meet - Changes

2009-06-25T17:07:00.004+08:00

If you have read my post about our bloggers' meet and if you plan to join us but have not informed me, please note that the time and venue has been changed.

The latest details are as follows:

Date: 27th June 2009
Time: 3pm - 5pm
Venue: Pavilion, meet outside Jco Donuts

See you there!

We Deserve A Vacation

2009-06-23T15:25:00.001+08:00

When I chatted with Trinity the night before she came to Malaysia, I could sense her happiness when we mentioned the word “vacation”. It makes me think of how a vacation can make a person excited, happy and relaxed.

The recent swine flu and economic turmoil has discouraged many people from taking a vacation. However, you would agree with me that the best way to get away from all the stress which we face in our work and to truly relax is to take a well deserved summer vacation. If we plan properly, a vacation can be made affordable and at the same time enjoyable. You may want to travel in groups and stay in a rental property like those in HomeAway Vacation Rentals instead of hotel rooms while splitting the cost.

The only worry we have is the attack of H1N1 virus but analyzing the cases of worldwide attack, there is still a slight sigh of relieve as the number of death cases is not that high. So, we got to pray hard that this virus will leave us alone the soonest possible so that everyone can travel!

If you love to travel, be sure to join the “Save Our Summer Vacation” movement organized by HomeAway to help the petition congress of United States to proclaim 7th August 2009 as a “National Vacation Day”. All you need to do is to sign the petition. The more names collected, the higher the chances August 7 would be declared a National Vacation Day. Help HomeAway stand up for your rights to have an affordable trip to truly relax and reconnect with family and friends while breaking away from stress.

That’s not all, enter a contest by submitting a short text, video or photo indicating why you deserve a vacation saved by HomeAway and one lucky person would walk away with a $10,000 getaway to the vacation rental they choose and the two runners-up will each receive a $5,000 trip. The contest ends on 2nd July 2009. So, hurry up, you may be the $10,000 getaway winner!

Come And Join Us

2009-06-19T11:05:00.004+08:00

Meeting blogger friends is something we get excited about. I’m not sure about you but I’m really blessed to find friendship in the blogsphere. I see blogger friends becoming good friends, helping each other, going out together and giving moral support. When someone is emotionally disturbed, other bloggers would leave comforting comments and even go all out to offer other forms of help.

So, on the 27th of June (Saturday) at 4pm, we (Wen and I) will be meeting Trinity, a creative blogger from Indonesia. We wish you would come and join us. If you know Trinity, you got to come. If you don’t know her, come too and we shall get to know each other. So, do leave a comment and let me know if you are coming or not.

The venue: Kids Playland, 2nd Floor, Ikano Power Centre, next to pet shop.

Bring you spouse and your children. The children will have fun playing at the balloon playland!

Trin, finally we get to meet each other and do not need to wait til we are nenek. Awaiting your arrival!

Home Insurance

2009-06-18T06:46:00.000+08:00

When we mention the word “insurance” many years ago, people, especially Malaysians were very skeptical about it and seeing an insurance agent is like seeing a salesman. Nowadays, most people can accept insurance as part of their lives.

In Malaysia, we are very dependent on insurance agents for basically everything about our policies but in western countries such as the UK, people can actually do everything online like getting quotations, comparing price, managing policies and even receiving emails which remind them of the renewal.

Besides buying insurance for ourselves and for our loved ones, getting our home insured is as important. Imagine losing everything you have at home after a break in or fire, doesn’t it hurt? Cheap home insurance can actually lessen your stress for you know that by paying a low monthly premium, you could fix things if something bad happens to your home.

Have you heard of the family legal protection policy? It covers you and your family for legal cost if there is any personal injury or death, negligence or assault, property disputes, consumer disputes, employment disputes and contract disputes. It also provides you with property protection, tax protection and jury service. I would say this is a pretty good insurance plan that we should seriously consider.

I’m not sure how much I have pumped in to purchase insurance but I know the figure is not small. Well, at least my investment gives me protection in return and that’s what I value most.

Yoga For The Brain

2009-06-16T06:00:00.002+08:00

Phew! Several weeks have passed and I have not been updating my blog. Many excuses can be given which include a house warming party (busy organizing games for the children), a birthday celebration and most of all lots of eating, traveling and sleeping.

Here's something to share with you to start off the day.

Now, what do you think?

Money Saving Coupons

2009-05-27T07:30:00.001+08:00

One thing I like about the internet is that you get to do everything in the comfort of your home with just a few clicks here and there. Besides online shopping, I love to search for coupons, coupons which give you discounts upon purchasing. Well, just with a little bit of effort, we could easily save some money!

My husband goes traveling to other countries on a business trip sometimes and I’m always the one helping him with the arrangement. There is always the hotel to book besides the air tickets and it’s rather convenient when we book online for hotel rooms. With hotels.com coupons, we can easily get $20 cash back with a 3-night booking. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

So, start searching for some coupons today and enjoy shopping!

Why Me?

2009-05-26T21:30:00.000+08:00

It's their exam.

They laugh,

they play,

they run,

they cycle,

and they are so calm and relax!

It's their exam.

I call,

I nag,

I read (to know their scope)

I write and type (set questions),

and most of all,

I get all the stress!

Why me?

Trade Show

2009-05-25T23:08:00.002+08:00

Starting a business is not easy but to maintain a business is more difficult. It requires a lot of planning and organizing plus a lot of socializing and brain storming, not forgetting the courage and skills.

We have started our business several years ago and we are really lucky that the business is still on-going until today. Besides retails, we do participate in exhibitions with the purpose to increase sales and to promote our products.

As an exhibitor, there are many details to see to before the actual date of exhibition. There is always the trade show booths to decorate, the gondola and exhibit truss to arrange, the banner stands to take care of and the products to place. It has been quite an experience for me when we first participated in the pc fair.

Our booth is always the simplest with the least frills, unlike booths owned by bigger companies. Some bigger booths have exhibit presentations which are set up with pipe and drape system. Well, they look way more presentable than ours.

For us, we have not reached that stage but I do agree that if a company gets bigger, the trade show booth should be more presentable to maximize confidence of customers towards their products and the company on a whole.

Beautiful Dresses For My Little Daughter

2009-05-21T13:10:00.001+08:00

I have a lovely daughter who loves to wear dresses and a talented friend who can sew beautiful dresses.

Here are some dresses made by my friend, Jess, for my daughter. The fabric used is chosen by Jess and I think she makes good choices. Hop over to her blog to see more.

Yellow bare back with chinese button dress

Blue lantern dress

Pink umbrella dress

Now, we are working on another "project". Nyn is going to be the flower girl soon and Jess would be her official taylor cum designer. How excited!

Cookies Vs Biscuits

2009-05-18T06:44:00.004+08:00

One day, Wayne was telling me about the cookies that he ate and upon listening to his brother, my little girl told me: “Mom, kor kor says he ate cookies but actually he ate biscuits.”

Curious, I asked her: “What’s the difference between a cookie and a biscuit?”

She answered: “Cookies are like those we eat during Chinese New Year and biscuits are those with cream.” (not her exact words but that was what she meant)

I have to laugh because I myself am not too sure about this. So, I google for “biscuits” and “cookies” and here’s what I found from Wikipedia:

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat-baked treat, containing milk, flour, eggs, and sugar, etc. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have different meanings—a cookie is a plain bun in Scotland,[1] while in the United States a biscuit is a kind of quick bread similar to a scone.

A biscuit is a kind of crisp, dry bread product that, if leavened, is usually made with a chemical leavener. The exact meaning varies markedly in different parts of the world. The origin of the word "biscuit" is from Latin via Middle French and means "cooked twice,"[1] hence biscotti in Medieval Italian (similar to the German Zwieback, and still present in Dutch "beschuit"). In modern Italian usage the term biscotti is used to refer to any type of cookie or cracker. Some of the original biscuits were British naval hard tack; such hard tack was made in the United States through the 19th century. Throughout most of the world, the term biscuit still means a hard, crisp, brittle bread, except in the USA and Canada, where it now denotes a softer bread product baked only once.

It's Cold

2009-05-10T17:32:00.008+08:00

I like Wednesday! Wednesday is the only day in a week that has cheap movie tickets and this is often the day hubby and I go for a movie, when the kids are all at school. Husband and wife need to go dating without the children sometimes to keep the relationship going. I know it’s difficult but there are many ways to work things out.

Every time I go for a movie, I would bring along a jacket with me but even with the jacket on, I’m often the one still complaining of the coldness. Sometimes I wonder how I would survive in a country during winter. Hubby often teases me: “How can I bring you to Europe? You would freeze!” and I would reply, “Can’t I wear North face jackets when I’m outdoor? They would keep me warm and I’m sure I would survive the winter.”

Having said that, I do have to train myself to be tougher and to be able to stand the coldness. The least thing I want is to see people around me flying from one country to another while I stay in the comfort of my home only to admire photographs and video clips of the travel. I love snow so much and it’s my dream to hold snow in my hand before I die. I’m sure I would work hard to conquer the fear of coldness in me and one day, I would proudly stand in the snow with hubby and say: “See darling, I did it!”

You Are The Best Mom

2009-05-08T13:24:00.010+08:00

Mothers' Day is here again and it marks the 8th year of my journey as a mother. When I received this award from two very special mothers, Wen and GG, I was touched. Well, I'm not sure if I'm the best mom around but in my children's heart, I'm always the best mom.

This award is supposed to be presented in hollywood style, you know, with the Thank you speech, hand waving, sexy evening gown, etc. but then...... (sorry GG, I failed you.)

So in conjunction with Mothers' Day, I'm dedicating this award to all wonderful mothers out there as well as to:

Mothers who have just given birth:

1) Miche who has just given birth to baby Ezra not long ago.

2) Hui Sia who has just brought baby Jemima to this world.

Mothers who are now pregnant:

1) Kerry

2) Anggie

3) Shern's Mom

4) Shireen Loh

5) Lee Yen

If I miss out anyone, I'm terribly sorry for I don't blog hop so often now and couldn't keep up with all your postings.

.........................................................................................................................................................................

See the Cute's Blogger Award? It came knocking at my door one day telling me that Ginie thinks I'm cute! Hey, Ginie, if I'm cute, you are too!

Here's to all the cute bloggers out there.

Managing Anger Part Three

2009-05-04T07:21:00.004+08:00

Continued from Part Two.

Method Three:

This method can be applied when someone provoke or disturb your child and he starts getting angry.

"Mummy, he make me angry!"

"Do you want to be the boss or the slave of your feelings?"

"If you tell your mind you don't want to be angry, nobody can make you angry.”

I remembered telling them about being the boss of our own feelings. We have the power to control our mind and do not allow negative feelings to take over us if we do not want to. (This would be followed by a story to enhance their understanding.)

I also remembered telling them about being a robot if we allow other people to control our feelings. Wayne and I did a demonstration to show how a person is being controlled. When I press the angry button on his body, Wayne would pretend to be very angry and when I press the happy button, Wayne would smile and be happy. When some people say nasty things about you, it’s like pressing the angry button on you. It’s up to you whether to allow positive feelings or negative feelings to flow in you.

"He is controlling you. Don't allow it."

Remarks: These methods are not applicable for all children. Each child is different and only YOU as the mother would know how to tackle your child. One thing I always remind myself is that children are forgetful. They tend to do it over and over again and that I should never give up on reminding them.

Managing Anger Part Two

2009-05-02T10:00:00.002+08:00

Continued from Part One.

Method Two:

When my children are angry, I would ask them: “Do you want cracks or crystal in your body?” Well, I have been telling them about the Japanese who did an experiment on two glasses of water. He would say good words to one glass and negative words to another glass. Then, he would freeze the water and look at the water structure and found that the water which “hears” good words look like crystal whereas the other one looks like some dirty drain water (I call it cracks). I told my children that 70% of our body is made up of water and if we get angry, we will have cracks all over but if we are happy, we will have lots of crystals inside (read this from an email).

Caution: when you get angry yourself, your children might use this method against you. This happened to me.

To be continued......

Managing Anger Part One

2009-04-29T07:16:00.003+08:00

What do you do when you get angry? Keep calm, breathe and count to ten? What about when this happens to your children? When your children get angry and throw tantrum, what would you do then?

One interesting thing about parenting is that we can be as creative as we can when dealing with our children and I’m sure you have wonderful ideas. For me, I have three methods to deal with this.

Method One:

When my children throw tantrum, I would look them in the eyes and say: “I will only talk to you when you keep calm.” Then, I’ll ignore them and keep very quiet. Usually, they would call “mummy, mummy” for several times but I won’t answer them. Then, they would continue sulking but I turned away, not allowing myself to look at them. After awhile, they would keep calm and with a nicer voice, say “Mummy, I am calm now.” That’s when I start talking to them again.

To be continued......

Invest In Gold

2009-04-27T10:39:00.006+08:00

The economic turmoil has affected many industries as well as people around the world. People tend to spend less to survive. To some people, this is the perfect time to invest as all prices of stocks, unit trust and properties are at the bottom and there is a high chance that those prices would bounce up again one day.

Is this a good time to invest? If you are thinking of investing, would you buy gold coins or buy gold bullion? We know that we should not put all eggs into one basket and if you have invested in the stock market or money market, you may want to consider diversifying into gold.

Gold is called the “crisis commodity” for its price rises when there is an economic crisis. Be it gold coins, gold ira or gold 401k that you opt for, you can be rest assured that it can protect and act as a hedge against your other portfolios.

Investing in gold requires certain level of knowledge and skill. The least thing you want is to lose all your money. If you are interested in this investment, you may want to know more about gold news, gold investment information and you may want to look at what the gold market analysts have to say before you make the decision. At Gold Coins Gain, you would be able to find out everything about gold.

Class Award

2009-04-26T22:15:00.005+08:00

One day, my eldest came home beaming, telling me about the award winners in his class. So, what award did he get? NONE! So, why is he so happy then?

Guess!

Guess again!

Have you got the answer?

Nope?

Here is the list of awards:

No manners no.1
No manners no.2
No manners no.3
Lazy worm no.1
Lazy worm no.2
Lazy worm no.3

Talkative no.1

Talkative no.2

King of gossip

Queen of gossip

"Fun" class, eh?

Build Your Network At Acobay

2009-04-26T21:16:00.002+08:00

Some people can’t bear with the idea of being a housewife. A housewife is known to be a woman who stays at home without the opportunity to stay in touch with the world.

Well, I sort of disagree with this. With internet, many things can be done even if you are staying at home. You can read newspaper online to get to know what is happening in the world, shop online, discuss in a forum online, even socialize and make friends online.

Acobay is a site where you can make some friends and build your own network. At Acobay, you get to share cool stuffs and discuss with others things that you love as well as those that interest you. For example, if you are a car lover, you can join the auto network and discuss about your favorite car and the features. I’m sure this would be the men’s favorite. If you are a pet lover, you can be in a pet network and get to know people who also keep pets and discuss everything about pets.

There are many categories ranging from music to books, automotive to computer, home appliance to sports and outdoors that we can discuss over at Acobay. With Acobay, housewife would not be left behind but instead, they would be in touch with the world and get to know the latest trend and gadget.

If you are a blogger like me, you can even promote your blog and drive traffic to your blog. That’s what bloggers wish for, isn’t it?

Try Acobay and start networking with people around the world today.

I’m Not Marrying for the Forth Time

2009-04-21T09:44:00.002+08:00

Nyn asked me to marry again!

This happened after our visit to IKEA. That’s where she saw a couple with their little baby. She loves babies so much and requested for a REAL baby.

“Mom, can I have a real baby please? I can look after the baby and feed the baby milk. Can you and daddy marry again so you can have another baby?”

Why must I marry again to have another baby? To her, you can only have one baby once you are married and she thinks I have married three times in order to have her and her two brothers! I guess I must have put the wrong idea in her head.

Time for correction!

Shop Online At Roman Originals

2009-04-19T22:42:00.004+08:00

Being a mother is never easy, what more a working at home mom who has to do everything to balance between family and career. There are many sacrifices that I have to make. To name a few, I can’t shop til I drop with my children around and I can’t attend wedding dinners if I can’t find a babysitter to take care of the children.

With internet, I am able to do everything online from bill payment to online purchase. Shopping for clothes has always been a headache for me as I can’t choose and try in peace with my kids running around. So, shopping online for clothes may be a good option for me but my only worry is that the clothes I purchase online won’t fit.

When I browse through this site called Roman Originals, I left my worries behind. They actually offer a size guide and teach you how to measure your bust, waist and hips for a more accurate fit. The clothes are all professionally designed and you can find clothes for all seasons over there. Isn’t this wonderful?

The beautiful thing about online purchasing at Roman Originals is that you get a chance to win £250 in their weekly contest and currently they are offering some evening blouses at discounted prices. If you are planning to buy an evening blouse, don’t miss this golden opportunity. Delivery can be made to all UK and North Ireland address except P.O. boxes.

Shop for a suitable blouse, coat, dress, jacket, skirt, trousers or suit at Roman Originals today and be sure to spare one minute of your time to enter the contest for you may be the next £250 winner!

The Perfect Day To Fall Sick

2009-04-16T20:30:00.003+08:00

Yup, TODAY is the perfect day to fall sick or should I say THURSDAY?

Read on.

The story went like this:

My eldest had fever last Tuesday and so I asked if he wanted to go to school or to stay home to rest for a day. Surprisingly, he told me he wanted to go to school.

“I think I better go to school or I would have a lot of homework and I will not be able to finish. If it is Thursday, I can rest one day so that I can collect my homework on Friday and I will have Saturday and Sunday to finish my homework.”

So you see, if you are a student of Chinese primary school, you got to choose a suitable day to fall sick! Homework is more terrible than sickness!

Shocking News!

2009-04-14T21:40:00.001+08:00

It was shocking news, really shocking to me! My good friend passed away peacefully in his sleep one year ago and I got to know from my mom only last week. How did that happened? He is just in his early thirties.

He was a very good friend of mine, a boy of a different race, but we had lots to chat about during our years in Secondary school. Oh, I do miss him now.

Because of this incident, I’m eager to write a will and I told hubby that both of us should do it as soon as possible. What if we just die tomorrow? Life is very unpredictable and anything can happen. I certainly do not want to leave my children with nothing.

My Helpers

2009-04-12T16:17:00.003+08:00

Since I can’t touch detergent and have no maids around to help me anymore, I found myself a few household helpers to ease my burden.

My sister has been telling me about the sponge with the handle but I have never seen this before until recently, I found it in Jusco. Hubby saw me buying this and he told me: "Whenever I am at home, I will still help you with the dishes." Thanks dear. You are the best!

With this, Karl likes washing the dishes.

This is really a good buy! Although the wiper sheet has to be changed every now and then but it's worth because it's only a few cents per week (I use it once a week upstairs). Usage: Push it around and the dust and hair will be stuck to the wiper sheet, hence, no sweeping required and no dust flying around.

Nyn likes to use this and she would push it around our rooms.

This is a gift from my sister. It's a swivel sweeper, like a vacuum cleaner with a light to shine wherever you bring it. The best thing is that it is easy to use, light weight and the light enables you to clean dark places without switching on the house lights.

Thanks sis for this great gift!

Wayne loves this. He would push it around downstairs and he likes to clean dark places like under the tables and cupboards, telling us that he can see.

So, you see, with the three helpers, I gained another three helpers! Good investment, isn't it?