tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174424430514077682024-02-21T18:05:29.292+08:00A Husband's VoiceA Husband's Voice was originally created to dedicate the fact that my wife and I were expecting our first child. However it is now a medium to share with you my journey as a first time father as well as to document our amazing experience as parents to our 3 children.A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-76591262550606973372011-08-24T15:48:00.000+08:002011-08-24T15:48:12.836+08:00Back!<div style="text-align: justify;">Wow! I cannot believe time passes so quickly that it has been slightly over a year since my below post. Originally I knew I was always going to post again but I guessed I have been too occupied with other things and after a while I actually questioned myself if I want to pick it up again. During this period of ‘absence’ I have been receiving some encouraging comments and feedback and what tipped the scale for me was the comment from Celine. I received an email on my phone totally out of the blue a couple of weeks back and to my surprise it was from a reader who left a comment in my blog. It was a pleasant surprise so I thought I should give it another go.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides getting comments and emails directly from readers I have also received some invites to write advertorials for products and services on my blog. Funny thing is these people never followed up after the initial contact has been made. I remembered I was invited to bring my kids to spend a couple of hours at a certain enrichment centre and all I have to do was to write about their experience in my blog. Phone calls were made and I was told they will check with the boss (who invited me) to firm up a date and time but that was it. There was also an online magazine that contacted me and again no follow up was made after the initial contact. Maybe the problem lies with me personally. I knew I should not have asked for $2 per word.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Much has progressed and changed this past year, for starters we now have an additional maid to help care for the 3 monkeys. She was handpicked by the Mrs and interviewed by Ani. In order to ensure that the 2 maids can work together we let Ani played a significant role in the selection process and we took the advice of the agency to employ a fresh maid for 2 experienced maids may not like working together under one house hold. We wanted to ensure the new maid wasn’t bullied so we told Ani upfront that should this new maid quits due to unfair treatment from her then we will not be hiring an assistance anymore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am happy to say that since Anah joined us back in October last year we have not had any problem with the two of them. She being new is generally slower but overall she is nice to the kids and the kids take to her too so we are happy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other major change is both the Mrs and I have moved from our previous jobs and it is also due to this new job that I was very tied up. I was travelling on an almost monthly basis. Now that things have settled and I am onto a certain routine I will try my hands at blogging again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Enough about us for I know you readers are not here to find out more about us. You want to know what has been going on with the children.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For starters Isaac is now in Nursery 2 and is more talkative and cheekier then ever if that is possible. He is at the stage where he is asking all the why’s and the where’s which is very hard for me to answer sometimes. Take “where” for example, on the way to pick the Mrs from work Isaac asked where were we going and I responded by telling him we were going to mummy’s office to pick her up. His next question was where and I told him the name of the building and he followed up with “but where is it daddy?” I tried explaining the location but as a 3yr old he wouldn’t know the difference of course and hence the entire journey I was bombarded with “where”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtv4mMfaZkTjyMBE8eunU4Th5beFCt1uUrS3snytVcPba2txEJ3NHLBOAVAgUFG-zUMPg7RO_5g7XltALISWyhhUANzNtt9LW-x881pK1ZLn2TL1eRsATHaxqtMx3Xqa5ko3SBpYa7iog/s1600/DSC00047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtv4mMfaZkTjyMBE8eunU4Th5beFCt1uUrS3snytVcPba2txEJ3NHLBOAVAgUFG-zUMPg7RO_5g7XltALISWyhhUANzNtt9LW-x881pK1ZLn2TL1eRsATHaxqtMx3Xqa5ko3SBpYa7iog/s400/DSC00047.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The twins are now in childcare and the weird thing is it is cheaper to enrol them for full day then half day. This is after the government subsidy of course. It is a very good pricing strategy by these centres if you ask me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway I was never in favour of placing the twins there for the entire day for I want the 3 of them to spend more time together. If they are placed there for most of the day then Isaac will have very little time with his siblings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFVdrU3xLnyaHzgGh2nJ1G6EMxWEdok90WVgtTF_Gno-rNcbVl41MO973Sbjh6IKUTLV5r48RM5Ijr7W-x0Pq82TVjfJk3liXy0IGt1_piPYXPVwsXhOjDasYGzYVYjlnj_K2jiib2no/s1600/IMG_2350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFVdrU3xLnyaHzgGh2nJ1G6EMxWEdok90WVgtTF_Gno-rNcbVl41MO973Sbjh6IKUTLV5r48RM5Ijr7W-x0Pq82TVjfJk3liXy0IGt1_piPYXPVwsXhOjDasYGzYVYjlnj_K2jiib2no/s320/IMG_2350.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">The two of them are enjoying themselves very much at the childcare and they are picking up new words and songs in both Mandarin and English which is good.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJHWdmdZSlT3FmCr9vFgvMe7FNpn5tDoQzKTYni8Avx6c64-_8BOFmO5MAOnnuM6SUjKSc3VIF82UlzkqiWa7xdhPdpO303_RzPHz5ru-jU2DeRff_JHlOJpOV5lLINJ9dtGKxZXHXt0/s1600/DSC00025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJHWdmdZSlT3FmCr9vFgvMe7FNpn5tDoQzKTYni8Avx6c64-_8BOFmO5MAOnnuM6SUjKSc3VIF82UlzkqiWa7xdhPdpO303_RzPHz5ru-jU2DeRff_JHlOJpOV5lLINJ9dtGKxZXHXt0/s400/DSC00025.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Thankfully amongst the 3 kids only Luke give us the “Terrible Two’s” for he is really demanding and cranky when he did not get his way. He will throw tantrum by screaming and kicking and he will not let up. He is getting better because we understand each other more but he is still the hardest to compromise.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigd06YwknkvtaFi_03kGj-va0GQD-KltJJAYI4Pcg-n_0Wn6b1-h1ptYr3jKzhzvPCaFvkBVkSe3bFGarGnAXjdtZbkvFNVTFSrCUkK4Dz0vxHTLsXzN6py6XWeA_l9e1O4pCbQDTSlPM/s1600/DSC00138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigd06YwknkvtaFi_03kGj-va0GQD-KltJJAYI4Pcg-n_0Wn6b1-h1ptYr3jKzhzvPCaFvkBVkSe3bFGarGnAXjdtZbkvFNVTFSrCUkK4Dz0vxHTLsXzN6py6XWeA_l9e1O4pCbQDTSlPM/s400/DSC00138.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hayley is very interesting for on one hand she is the easiest to compromise but on the other hand she is also the fiercest amongst the 3 of them. Due she is easily pacified she ended up having to give in the most. At times when the 3 of them all wanted a certain toy for example, Hayley will most likely be the one who sacrifices for she is usually fine if she can get another toy. The trick is we must ask her nicely. If her brothers snatched her toys she will go after them with her mouth wide open to bite them. Some of you have seen the below picture on my Facebook but here it is again for those who missed it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71zwkvZroJuKZd_c_4OsK2rlE7rtFMnS-LWYQMkXi-hk4Hse8eWY5NAQid-bDqSq_4pjSb6sjJvg1khTTnfC-3qoihPFzitkInQoTzYN38XLEyFJ5G1apb_iwfXig20mWrEECPK_KLHg/s1600/IMG_2127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71zwkvZroJuKZd_c_4OsK2rlE7rtFMnS-LWYQMkXi-hk4Hse8eWY5NAQid-bDqSq_4pjSb6sjJvg1khTTnfC-3qoihPFzitkInQoTzYN38XLEyFJ5G1apb_iwfXig20mWrEECPK_KLHg/s400/IMG_2127.JPG" width="298" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am very happy that we have Hayley for the behaviour and character between the boys and her is really very different. I am thrilled to be given the chance to be a father to both genders. I will share with you my experience in the future posts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYK1v-WyvFNT7BEl7sII-pfqpXXpxv-TJ4sIs9QskpU5XGFjBtUND_wCw9yKIifszCfLvWmJbeR5uY81CJnPJ7vkjlFdFlyd0pn2Ak3YcFUgmPWZV0E-E2ATngU7CBHD4ayAq-OzaeN8/s1600/DSC00085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYK1v-WyvFNT7BEl7sII-pfqpXXpxv-TJ4sIs9QskpU5XGFjBtUND_wCw9yKIifszCfLvWmJbeR5uY81CJnPJ7vkjlFdFlyd0pn2Ak3YcFUgmPWZV0E-E2ATngU7CBHD4ayAq-OzaeN8/s400/DSC00085.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-72230986044145688492010-08-03T21:35:00.002+08:002010-08-04T14:41:04.834+08:00Survived!!<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We survived!! Yes we managed to pull through the two weeks without Ani! Although it was a little challenging but I am proud to announce that everyone got by without any major problem.</span> <br />
<div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my earlier concerns was how Isaac will react to Ani missing. Will he be asking for her constantly? As he sleeps with Ani every night will he cry for her for the whole two weeks? In the end I am pleased that all my concerns and worries were unfounded. Not only did Isaac adapt excellently, he never once asks for Ani during bedtime.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There were a couple of occasions when he would ask where was Ani and he seemed satisfied with our reply that Ani went home. We are not sure if he understands by ‘home’ we meant her own home in Indonesia or he thought she was at our home waiting for him. Sometimes he will forget that Ani is not around and he will run out of our room calling out to her for sweets, biscuits or Milo. He never kick up any fuss when we said she went home so long as we got what he wanted for him.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As for the twins they are too young to really notice her missing. Perhaps they are only too happy to be seeing their dad more each day for this dad showered them each morning. Naturally I like to think that was the case.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These two weeks would not have been so smooth if we did not get the support from my parents and my sister’s maid. All of them chipped in whenever they could and since the Mrs and I could not be there all the time we are really grateful for that.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is a picture of all the kids having their milk around 5pm.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501115945373887170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbz4bEnYOZlZRn3DWbjabWZ1e-R-7a0Y7p46-FGcO_MrSTvB5-AJcgPGnbKjZ-Rez0WSDN4i3D7ehPX1OCVhARVCVxx_m-GZUttJzuep4YVXVv-4TCLxuzxbniZw3HwqQZW1VU3kSLbg/s400/IMG_1053%5B1%5D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the morning I need help feeding the twins and putting them to sleep for I had to run out to pick Isaac from school. We will have the Mrs back each afternoon which was great for the most challenging part of the day was between 3 to 8pm. This period is when all 3 of them will be up and about and they are really a handful.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After this experience we truly appreciate Ani more for we now understand much better what she has to go through on a daily basis.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take a look at my bruises (different legs) from handling the kids.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501117359482173314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37UY4Y25wBL4D2Xpf_GJReRIao2_GLS0bwl6F2Y42X1Tizzfg7JHLy2XMEfazul9ACGaNG-9mw8k5fND_g_wdAATaPuixRkFG_Bz_n3FKQO5rq2tgksXhVsp9V8ra4cmewIQChVH2Lcs/s400/IMG_1054%5B1%5D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501117984638051458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUp-xj-5sog2WeK5SiIE6kQcCwruH1D_CRM8xspb40wS1thCyFSo-WE7CW_YkISHpCz6bvl3bwExBco2LnGYfa2i6RjrpEV0spWjwOO32LkscmsF2pYVreWq3wC-bO_J_Ly8JLRnHVszY/s400/IMG_1055%5B1%5D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not only that I actually developed sore throat towards the end of the two weeks from the constant screaming and shouting at the kids. So much so that Isaac can mimick after me now. Some of my favourite phases are:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t run!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Too near! (when the kids stood right in front of the TV)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Children come! (this is what Isaac will say these days whenever he calls for his siblings)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Come in! (whenever he ventured out to the balcony and play with the broom and pebbles)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We actually asked Ani to make sure she drinks honey water regularly since her return. God knows she needs it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another challenging aspect of caring for the kids are the 2 weekends. We cannot stay at home for we will certainly be driven mad so we need to plan outings that included my parents. Thankfully being the doting grandparents that they are they gracefully accepted overtime ‘work’ and went out with us.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Below are videos and pictures that we captured during our outings which include Marina Square, West Coast Park and Terminal 3.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is a video of Hayley smelling a flower which was given to her. One fine day we brought the twins to the Botanic Gardens for a morning picnic after dropping Isaac off in school. A nice lady taking a liking to the twins gave Hayley a flower and she surprised us all by holding it to her nose and took a sniff at it. Who taught her that?!?!?!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy_1R9r3f6weGA0pCASbNf2-5rGONxHP0ktky-rzCyxNqjaa3WKFyaiWbbf20uY1vFr_YBmQqdMq965lVJVZw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is a video of Luke falling asleep at Marina Square and we were trying very hard to prevent him from sleeping. The reason was because it was almost 7pm and we were worried if he slept then he will not be able to sleep when we got home.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwEhb1ke0x07Z6bPrjvpQX8_dSEc11vw5op3uN29tvdWptCo4W_87ude6KR5LRR_T9STeYGBnQU54nXtFmRWQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the record we failed and he had a good nap in the car but thankfully it was only a rather short one which did not really disrupt his bedtime when we got home.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Below are pictures that we took of Isaac having fun at West Coast Park. Unfortunately his siblings could not join him for they are too young and more importantly Hayley’s dislike of the sand.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_m_B6LxTgSMVy2FrqFrXvWTXYOgrbiHzS9LM6CPDSsSCufq41M4yjmhaa_nDxMuiAH4TJeo0eg_qMMxc-t6VIynlngbXNqKpqSr3Uc257HU10BS_J-YNmWrrhGJ3-rOpMPo_xDMqkgxY/s1600/IMG_1061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_m_B6LxTgSMVy2FrqFrXvWTXYOgrbiHzS9LM6CPDSsSCufq41M4yjmhaa_nDxMuiAH4TJeo0eg_qMMxc-t6VIynlngbXNqKpqSr3Uc257HU10BS_J-YNmWrrhGJ3-rOpMPo_xDMqkgxY/s400/IMG_1061.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKUDsOMNN_haUMBBydkHSdYWQGc5dFOpue3itaaWoAjC1hklIH_i9rneKt6FpbuzeRLEeYpmhZZdCn56bdVcsR8nDzGtVzzQd7cpDWTPSCIaWB2FKoCIuqdEEM8jc3P4pyZ7grEnSu_A/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKUDsOMNN_haUMBBydkHSdYWQGc5dFOpue3itaaWoAjC1hklIH_i9rneKt6FpbuzeRLEeYpmhZZdCn56bdVcsR8nDzGtVzzQd7cpDWTPSCIaWB2FKoCIuqdEEM8jc3P4pyZ7grEnSu_A/s400/IMG_1058.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsUtpjaeUqAG86lGYQKLvJsDHLF87AeDzUdFGXAkDlni1sX6D6SqEBkOV6TtW0bb9z0l66xMXl6HallBNGMDUl1l_YsjWi55RpCeLEh35DLcLdkhb9GhqO54XOYHJ4r8KX0Q4uMFzoa4/s1600/IMG_1063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsUtpjaeUqAG86lGYQKLvJsDHLF87AeDzUdFGXAkDlni1sX6D6SqEBkOV6TtW0bb9z0l66xMXl6HallBNGMDUl1l_YsjWi55RpCeLEh35DLcLdkhb9GhqO54XOYHJ4r8KX0Q4uMFzoa4/s400/IMG_1063.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxEUXTZO9WT7CGPKCrr3sAF4fskTyY1dCQINLmB4bnmVNcyI6EHo4a91cRdoZHEs5bYAJB7jjuOco_RxASGb3baWvEcXVVldBHDsW1mmsmOB7t3-CI66Dz8tddfHPoAY9WhfDfc5VT5k/s1600/IMG_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxEUXTZO9WT7CGPKCrr3sAF4fskTyY1dCQINLmB4bnmVNcyI6EHo4a91cRdoZHEs5bYAJB7jjuOco_RxASGb3baWvEcXVVldBHDsW1mmsmOB7t3-CI66Dz8tddfHPoAY9WhfDfc5VT5k/s400/IMG_1066.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">This was taken at Terminal 3. See how small Isaac is standing next to the XC60.</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxYUFPe-MzbD8zrQ3n_W-gPFXcQb9Ycvvfui0ePrLwoaTI6x6z_cPGh3pCNWRzfYAJhoT2I7ON207t7x6Iz3Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Notice how Hayley will spread her legs to prevent from touching the sand?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After these two weeks the Mrs really felt sorry for what Ani has to go through each day and in all fairness she did not sign up for this in the beginning so we are now considering employing another maid but that is a topic I will save for later.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div></div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-30430974675240589662010-06-28T13:38:00.002+08:002010-06-28T13:55:20.705+08:00Helpless<p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">How time flies for Ani has recently finished her contract with us and has signed another 2 year deal with a pay increment. We are happy that she has decided to stay for she certainly didn’t sign up to take care of 3 babies in the beginning. When she arrived we only had Isaac but along the way you can say that her workload has increased by 3 folds. So deep down the Mrs and I were a little concerned that she may want to see her contract out and look for something perhaps a little less hectic.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">So she will be heading home for her well deserved 2 weeks break and unlike her we are certainly not looking forward to it at all. Over the 2 years we are spoilt by her for we need not have to worry about preparing the kids and packing the necessary stuffs whenever we plan to go out. All we had to do was inform her of our plans and give her about half an hour and we will be good to go.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Changing the kids is the easy part hence we do it ourselves. It is the huge bags that we bring out that are very challenging. You cannot imagine the different kinds of stuffs that she packs in there in anticipation of the kids (well mainly Isaac’s) demand. Some examples besides the necessities such as milk powder, diapers, change of clothes, hot water etc; are sweets like the gummy bears, biscuits, packets Milo as well as this yogurt drink and some other stuffs that I cannot think of now. All I know is whenever Isaac demanded for something more often than not she will have it in those big bags. When the twins get really cranky in the car she will also have the right snacks to pacify them.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Now with her gone for 2 weeks, I believe we will be at a lost to a certain degree and won’t be surprised that we will miss out on an item or two.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">There are other issues as well. Since we learned that the Mrs was pregnant with the twins Isaac has been sleeping with Ani for obvious reason. Now we are taking turns to put him to sleep each night. The really good thing here is he doesn’t have to be put to bed by Ani which means we can do it but we need to know his bedtime habits too.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Originally the Mrs wanted to take a 2 week break from work so the both of us can try and take care of them ourselves but her boss wasn’t too thrilled with the idea. Then the alternative was to look for a part-time babysitter to help out at my parents’ place every day until our return after work. The Mrs went to the various forums to search for recommended nannies and agencies. We actually interviewed a couple of them even. The cost for this arrangement will maybe set us back by about one grand easy. Not too many nannies are too keen to take up the position as well once they learned that we have 3 kids even though we <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>promised them that my parents and to a certain extend I will be there to help out. We assured them that they will not be the only one to take care of all 3 of them at any one time but they are still worried and I can also understand why. One agency was even crazy (or stupid) enough to propose charging us 3 times the cost for having 3 babies to which we responded wouldn’t it make more sense then for us to hire 3 nannies?!?! For the company’s sake I seriously hope she is not the owner.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">In the end after much thinking, planning and discussion with my parents we have decided against hiring outside help. One thing is my parents are not too crazy about the idea of having a stranger over at their place and more importantly the kids may not take to her at all.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">So here’s the plan. I will send Isaac and the Mrs to school and work every morning and I will then head back to my parents’ place to bath and feed the twins. My parents and I will take care of them until the Mrs come home from work around 2pm. Her boss has compromised with her taking half day everyday for the 2 weeks. In between I will also be going to pick Isaac from school. Since I am working from home and my work allows me certain flexibility I will arrange for my appointments and meetings to the late afternoon when the Mrs can take over from me.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">On paper it certainly looked very doable but I know we (the Mrs and I) will probably be in for some shock when the time comes. I truly believe that this little experience will make us appreciate more what Ani and my parents have to do on a daily basis.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">It will certainly be a very tiring 2 weeks for we have to wake up much earlier to get Isaac changed, fed and dressed for school. We will also have to feed the twins before leaving the house. Putting them to sleep will not be so easy as well for currently we take one kid each at night but this will not be possible then.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Planning on what to do and where to bring them during the weekends will also not be easy. We definitely cannot stay at home the entire weekend with the kids for we, the parents will probably go mad. However to bring them out will require much work, planning and execution. To care for all 3 kids who are now running (Isaac), walking briskly (Luke) and unsteadily (Hayley) will be tough. The twins are at the stage where they do not want to be carried or be left sitting in the stroller. They will be repeating “walk walk” non-stop and struggling.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">If you would like to volunteer your time in helping or have any suggestions at all you know how to reach me.</span></p>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-30827520154064713702010-06-08T12:04:00.002+08:002010-06-08T12:10:55.861+08:00Lessons!!<p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">As most of you know parenthood is new to the Mrs and I hence there are many lessons to be learnt. Although we have 3 kids but as their age difference is small our experience is really limited to how we handled Isaac. However as we all know every child is special and unique in their own way handling them requires very different technique.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Recently we learnt 2 very important lessons and those of you who are on Facebook with me will probably know of it by now.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><em><strong>The most important one is: Never trust your thermometer 100%.</strong></em></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">We are very blessed in that up until about 3 weeks ago we have never had to bring any of our children to the emergency ward of any hospital. We usually let them ride out their sickness and until they turn 1 we abstain from administering any form of medication. Like our PD always says, medicines really just remove the symptoms but it is not the cure. Even when they have fever we will sponge them and watch their mood before we decide whether or not to administer medicine. Watching their mood and appetite is the key thing.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">About 3 weeks ago Isaac had fever and Ani was taking his temperature every few hourly and since he is already past 2 years old we are more relaxed on giving him medicine. Unfortunately his fever never really quite subsided and in fact got higher. In the evening when we got home from work the readings were around 39 degree with the highest for that day being 39.5. We could also tell that he is not his usually cheerful self although he wasn’t cranky just a little more “manja” then usual.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">We decided to bring him to KK emergency ward and we were shocked that the readings the nurse doctor took was around 40.5 degree because we brought our own thermometer and along the way and while waiting for our turn we were frequently taking his temperature and it never passed the 40 degree mark.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Now the weird thing here was when I took my temperature with our own and then with theirs the readings match. But when it comes to Isaac the difference is about 2 degrees.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">After the entire episode I went down to the manufacturer and got them to check the thermometer for me they advise me that sometimes even a faulty one can take accurate readings up to about 38 degree but anything higher it won’t be accurate anymore.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">When they checked the thermometer they found out that the area around the sensor was dirty and a little rusty. That was the cause for the inaccurate readings and after cleaning it thoroughly it worked fine and readings above 40 degree was measured accurately as well.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Looking back it was a rather scary experience for this meant that Isaac was probably at about 41.5 degree at one time for the highest recorded was 39.5.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">I hope you learn from our experience and get another thermometer to be kept at home and should the reading be above 38 degree then have a second reading with the spare one just to be sure.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Now on a lighter side of things, I learnt another lesson and this time it was thanks to Luke.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><em><strong>The funny lesson: Always cover the toilet bowl!</strong></em></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The children have a habit of using our iPhones to play and watch the many Apps that we got for them. In fact Isaac is so good with it he knows how to launch the YouTube and look for his favourite videos. This by the way was learnt all on his own. Before he turned 1 he already know how to slide to unlock the phone and he could do it upside down as well.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Anyway back to Luke. One morning as I was washing up in the bathroom the twins were just walking around messing things up in the wardrobe area. After a while they were trying to come into the bathroom with me. I used my leg to block Hayley from coming in while the door was half closed but little did I know Luke has silently open the door and walked in. Next I heard him say “Throw!” and before I knew it I heard something dropped into the toilet bowl and to my horror it was the Mrs’s iPhone.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">I shouted “Oh No!!” and the Mrs came running in thinking that one of the twins had hurt themselves. When she saw Luke in the bathroom she thought what happened to him and carried him right away. I honestly believed that my instant reaction saved him for when the Mrs learned that he is fine then everything else is secondary including her iPhone. Plus I knew she wanted to change it long ago due to the many scratches and teeth marks but as it was in perfect operational condition she cannot have it changed.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Now I know many of you readers are iPhone owners and in case you’re not aware, when under warranty your Telco will replace your iPhone free if the problem is not caused by water. In our case where clearly it is due to water then the cost will be S$350 when under warranty.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Fortunately SingTel decided to replace mine for free and it was due to my monthly bill otherwise we all know who will be paying for the replacement.............Luke!</span></p>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-69452461998536959442010-05-13T14:35:00.020+08:002010-05-13T22:47:21.916+08:00Updates!<div align="justify">Wow! I believe this is the longest period for not updating this blog. I think I really need to put in more effort before all you remaining readers disappear as well. There is however a very good reason for not updating this time and that is due to some changes at the work front. Due to a change of company I have been very busy with all the usual handover and getting things ready for the new environment.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">My new role as a consultant allow me to work a lot from home. Since this is a one man show for now so my work hours are very flexible which means I can take care of more household and children stuffs. Take fetching Isaac home from school for example, I certainly have been doing more of that lately. Running around brining Ani for her medical, collecting free diapers and exchanging shoes for the right size are examples of things on my “to-do” list.<br /></div><div align="justify">Below is a video clip of Isaac (1st kid on the right with a pink toy hanging from his bag) being led from his class to the pickup point. This is how it is done on a daily basis when they move to and from their classes. The children are made to stand two by two and there is this ropewith rings in the middle for them to hold onto.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx5PgKz9_7dRUvge-K78X4mQLfHoGdoT04ncr-wAThRK_SfwQP7A6czM5ZhBfaeBM4j4Rohfs6A2bJ46BgMFg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><div align="justify">Before you all get excited and think that I am now a part-time SAHD I should clarify that the children are still going to their grandparents as usual. Not sure about your kids but I will not be able to do much work with them around for the moment they see me fire up the laptop they will all come running and stumbling (the twins) over much like moths being drawn to the flame. They will want to hammer away on the keyboard or poke at the LCD screen. Besides, I am still going out on an almost daily basis for my customers’ visits.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">There are certainly new developments since my last post about the Mrs going away for her Japan trip. Isaac I believed has entered the much talked about “Terrible Two” stage but personally I think either he is the mild type or what we read about were much exaggerated. I would like to think that for Isaac’s case it is the former rather than the latter. He is much more vocal these days especially about the things that he doesn’t want so it is not uncommon to hear him say “No!”, “I don’t want” and “我不要”. It is rather fun teasing and irritating him sometimes but insisting “Yes” and “要” only to wait for his repeated response. I know it is probably not right but surely a parent can have some fun at his kids' expense right?<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">His behaviour seems to rubbing off on Luke for he is also saying “No” whenever he doesn’t want something and if we insist he will actually say “don’t want” although it is not that clear.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">Since attending Nursery Isaac’s vocabulary has expanded by leaps and bounds. We can hear new words or phrases coming out of him on an almost daily basis. Some of the most recent ones are:<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">- Daddy come<br />- Daddy follow me<br />- Step by step<br />- See, cute baby<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">The twins are now walking about unassisted and my biggest fear is they may fall off our bed. They like to climb onto our bed and walk about but as they are still not that steady and strong they may just topple and fall off the bed. Although our bed is rather low, we recently changed it with them in mind, we’re still weary of the damage such a fall can bring.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">Seeing the twins walking side by side unsteadily is rather amusing so I will try and find a chance to capture it on video and post it here so be sure to check back here. I only noticed they look rather amusing last Saturday when they insisted on getting on the floor during dinner at this famous steamboat place near Golden Mile. They were so insistent that even though we did not have shoes for them we let them walked about bare footed. We pick a quieter walkway of course. They were wearing rather matching outfits that day and it made them look rather cute.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">Oh I have always wanted to mention that toddlers are similar to zombies that we see in movies. Like the zombies these toddlers are always trying to put your finger in their mouths to bite. If you are carrying them you have to beware that they may just take a chunk off your shoulders too (just experienced that last evening with Hayley). Even when it comes to walking they stumble around with their arms bent and raised in front of them just like the zombies too. If you don’t believe me grab the nearest toddler next to you and observe. A little make-up will greatly enhance the effect too.<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">We have found a family activity that we will be sticking to almost every Sunday except when it rains and that is to bring them to the pool. I like bringing them to the Singapore Poly Guild House pool for there is a very shallow part for the twins to walk and crawl on. At first the twins did not enjoy the water much and it required about half an hour for them to like being in the water but these days they have no problem soaking in it. Isaac especially is loving it. I enjoyed it so much that I went out to get some water gun for us while my dad contributed the rubber duckies for the twins.<br /></div><div align="center">Here are some pictures of the kids having fun!<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470751281874386194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSW2P4seVWYF59B0bEEC8a_RPncYY6UInZnWH6CT44elujZh1aSvyda8kF0aW_HBC_-8LHBniNGYnWZSsj3rfxdBsDHOaZQ0-U6AZ5C4rEQyQmy_6X1Zyma6YPUfvDb8M-DpFEIvxEao/s400/IMG_0867.JPG" /> <p align="center"> His trademark cheeky smile!<br /><br /><br /></p><p align="left"></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470752024087249122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W4VV-2CnYUxaH87siQ05DtJLFmo1U8s9ngw2oF8o7I6-9CLzVVV421GShmtZ89yoPB7AHTjnttbp7dg3lXmu6Pldzfxi85R0lVabl2AJOzOuRmtgjS5v7mu3MNfK70l42X2spoNIR-s/s400/IMG_0869.JPG" /> <p align="center"> This is the reason why we are heading back every weekend.</p><p align="center"> </p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470754617800436882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lvh05GXAQWwR-Fj60EDIkh8xXG1yYdw3QXV4bwrwVfOjs5oMuI8KSAwFqlWVOLMYHAm7A1bQyL_fU_FkksDoTgN_f8xryT1mtbo9fhrRmdKWBb1nPz-PwbE8Q6MHxQtv7Xrl6jy_AD8/s400/CIMG2150.JPG" /> Isaac and his water gun.<br /></p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470755535708947442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQg0ZLkXGXsbdNW81x1bIOMe4dlA9hyRIhP9YhGCxTcaJY8Z9f9kbTt46wGPWShS3gbWsdlyjf9UnjxXw8CZjSdRISZzwaNOHaWaANBTy631WKVZPy-EX4UU5M4sbgNMDJ0nM-xepofOg/s400/CIMG2162.JPG" />See how happy he is!<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470757937961846514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKED-UwWOAgsgK0nLyGEiV3MAodaZ8zkoG8VEneLd2oPA81S0k0YY4r9NVFtq-WMPIQs0W3NOQC5b8Nf7KACJAPrA14grTfie6Vl-lggLqym7bZcVEVVniCzDghGoX4NK3awQ4xwY_cw/s400/CIMG2186.JPG" /> Of all the 3 kids Luke takes to water the best. </p><br /><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470758729819132482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH04rshAeI5W3QngoPPxqybICSNO7laNcUAV30jqqJzpwnsgdixhEdSYkjlPMVevobmBMeP5hI5fPazGV03a5l2oe-aepEAw4zhV05csy7ySfI-TIhbZ8GjJPpFMiE9Xz3wAFc-5FdNRo/s400/CIMG2191.JPG" />The twins and their rubber duckies!</p><p align="center"><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470761108870457506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogKo2nsah-CcJ90ZuFmvL7L-bz8BcnE_CyqedrsCz7hpVZ2Q21o8Z7YrjJx_MUuIArAjGvkH30ipIbn4BU_S_TlK_t7cWznoOQsAl381q4VRzPpvNmvdUNb4s8Ui0jcR-MZwFriK0uW0/s400/IMG_0846.JPG" />Anyone looking for housekeeper? Cute right?</p>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-2151109073929069602010-04-12T17:48:00.005+08:002010-04-12T22:05:12.475+08:00Volunteers?<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">In the past before we were parents the Mrs would bring her parents to nearby countries for short vacations every once in a while. She was always guilty that she was unable to spend more time with them so she will take them to short getaways while they are still mobile.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Ever since we became parents she has stopped this practice due to obvious reason but I know deep down she would very much like to continue. It is not easy trying to be a wife, mother and good daughter at the same time.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The past two years have not been very nice as we witnessed the passing of our friends’ parents. Friends who are actually about the same age as us which means their parents are probably around the same age as our parents as well. Early this year we learned of another friend whose mum was diagnosed with cancer and it was at the advanced stage already. Instead of opting to go through the chemo therapy she decided to live out her remaining days happy and she started off by visiting <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region> first.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I believed that incident triggered something within the Mrs and she discussed with me if it is alright for her to bring her folks for a holiday. What started out to be a trip to <st1:country-region st="on">Taiwan</st1:country-region> has now morphed into a trip to see the cherry blossom in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. So come this Saturday she will bring her parents to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hokkaido</st1:place></st1:state> for a week. There will only be the three of them so it is not exactly a holiday for the Mrs for she will be taking care of the old folks but I believe seeing them enjoy themselves is reward enough.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">So starting this weekend it will be just Ani and I taking care of the three kids. There are minimum changes in the day since I have always been involved in preparing the kids to go to their grandparents place and Isaac to school. Small changes are instead of having the Mrs bring Isaac to the teachers at his school I will have to part my car and run in. Rest of the days will be pretty same-o same-o for they will be at my parents place until I come back for them in the early evening.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Without the Mrs I can be home earlier actually which is not necessary a good thing. This automatically means I will be bringing them home earlier also and once home Ani will proceed with her daily chores of cleaning up the place and it will be them versus me for about 2 to 3 hours before they turn in.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Hmmmm….. maybe I should get Ani to deprive them their afternoon naps so they will retire earlier in the evening. Muhahahahaha!!!! Just kidding Darling.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Honestly I am not at all worried about sending Isaac to school on my own or tackling them alone in the evening. Ani has proven to be of great help and my kids are nice to us for they all sleep by 9pm which leaves me with a lot of ‘me’ time. With the Mrs in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region> I think it is time to buy another one or two Xbox game. Woohoo!!!</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Where I need help my readers are what to do and where to go this weekend. Usually with the Mrs around it is already not easy bringing the 3 of them out. Somehow we always managed but with only Ani and I, going out is not such a good idea at all.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Recently I noticed we are attracting a lot of stares and attention whenever we eat out. The fact that the waiters have to remove 3 normal chairs and replace them with 3 highchairs will already arouse people’s curiosity. When they see us walking in and taking our seats I can almost sense their stares and gossips. They will discuss amongst themselves if all 3 kids are ours and seeing the twins they will have more questions; if they’re twins and the age gap between Isaac and the twins. Once they determined that they are all ours you can definitely sense their astonishment. “I wonder how they cope” and “What were they thinking” are probably the general sentiment.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Back to the dining table, Isaac will be demanding to feed himself and will want this and that before he decides it is time to explore the restaurant. The twins will usually be good and quiet so long as we continue to stuff food in their mouths. Come to think of it maybe their mouths are too full to make any noise. However even they have their off days sometime and with the 3 of them behaving the way they do these people are probably taking pity on us.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">With the Mrs away I can assure you that we will not be eating out and if we do it will surely involve my parents. My main concern is what to do with them in the day? Where can I bring them to burn off their energy? Places like Polliwogs are no good because while Isaac can enjoy with me chasing after him Ani will be left to watch after the twins alone.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Staying at home the entire weekend is also a terrible idea for tackling them for 2 to 3 hours is tiring enough I can’t imagine having to manage them for so many hours. They will still stick to their daily nap routine but it still leaves us with a good 4 to 5 hours of activities to keep them occupied.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">My bro, Mike was kind enough to invite us to hang around with him and his family this weekend for he said they can help us take care of the twins. Now that is a friend indeed.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">So now the question is do I have another good friend in you my readers? Any volunteers to help babysit this weekend?</span></p>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-90419624106974630052010-03-23T21:04:00.004+08:002010-03-23T21:53:43.830+08:00Favourite<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">From the moment we brought the twins home we were asked time and again if we have a favourite amongst the 3 kids. Who do we prefer more? Frankly speaking I did question if I will ever have a favourite since it is only human to like something or someone more than others.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">There were some concerns from Isaac’s Godma and Grandma that he may be neglected now that he has 2 younger siblings and I am still not sure if we managed to dismiss their unfounded concern after so many months.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">My mum’s love and favouritism shown towards Isaac is still unmatched. Everyone can tell that Isaac is clearly her favourite grandchild. We have to monitor though in case things get out of hand. An example happened the other day when Isaac snatched Hayley’s toy causing her to cry and my mum immediately gave another toy to Hayley to try and pacify her. When I saw this I corrected her and returned the original toy to Hayley and told Isaac off. I explained to my mum that Hayley should not have to settle for another toy just because Isaac wanted the first one.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Don’t get me wrong though for Isaac is not the bully at home. He loves his siblings and is ever ready to kiss, hug and sayang them. It is just that when it comes to sharing toys he is not quite there yet. The twins do not fare any better as well and this is an area that we are monitoring and working on. Isaac is still a toddler after all so sometimes he doesn’t understand the full extend of the things that he should not do.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">I made him a promise when we know he will be a ‘big’ brother at a young age that he will not miss out on anything from being a toddler. I have always reframed from imposing the responsibilities of an elder brother on him. He is still a big baby to me and he knows that. When I ask him where is daddy’s big baby, he will point to his own head and say “nai”. I want him to grow up at his own pace without having to worry about being a big brother to the twins. Perhaps in another couple of years then he will take on the role gradually.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">When the twins were younger they were not showing much of their personalities and characters so there wasn’t much to compare between the 3 children. Some of you readers may not agree to us comparing but I like to think that it is a very natural thing to do. We compare things like the stages of motor skills development to how fast their teeth grow, to their speech development and of course their character and temper. We even compare how much milk they take and at what pace too. The way they sleep and at what time they sleep and how long their nap last.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Now that the twins are a little older the comparison is getting more interesting because their personalities are beginning to show. Take Hayley for example. She has always been the quiet and demure one while Luke is always very demanding and Isaac is well ……… Isaac. Then we begin to wonder if there is any truth to the theory that having more than one hair whorl means a person is “naughtier”. You see, 妹妹 is the only one in the family with 2 hair whorls. But the theory may have some truth after all for these days 妹妹 is certainly no push over. When her brothers take her toys she will scream at them and will try and get them back. Very often her scream is way louder and we can see from her face just how angry they made her. I can already see this girl standing toe to toe against any boy bully in her life.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">I have also heard stories that being the middle child in the family is not good. They are often neglected and they grow up aloof and weird in some cases. I personally do not have this experience because people around me are either the eldest or youngest. I don’t believe I have too many friends who are the middle child. So any input from you guys will be helpful.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><em>Note: By Input I do not mean scare so please do not scare us for in case you forgot we have a middle child in Luke! Thank you!</em></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">With Luke nicknamed “Blur” didn’t really help the matter too. In his defense he is actually much better now. He smiles a lot more and has many expressions as well but just not in front of the camera. I have posted the below clip to support my case and to help him get rid of that nickname.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzH8MRVKWLxDQF1yGR-fdIkkzd05U_O3wPFourSmpZavxyaWZIysQJs-xVM0Kk79zstbNFSdj6GUXY_zDmybw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Now back to age old question of whether or not we have a favourite all I can say is that an experiment I conducted not too long ago probably summed it all up for us.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Back in September the Mrs and I went to Hong Kong for a short <a href="http://ahusband.blogspot.com/2009/10/10th.html">getaway</a> without the kids and I remembered wondering out loud to the Mrs if we could find out who we miss more during the trip. I guess I thought if we know who we miss more then that will probably mean we favour that child more. Frankly I am a little surprised but very pleased with the outcome.</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-45427343768247077002010-03-11T12:51:00.000+08:002010-03-11T12:51:54.386+08:00Chinese New Year<div style="text-align: justify;">I have never quite enjoyed Chinese New Year and I believe it is due to the fact that I hate to make small talks. When I was younger the topic will always revolve around schools and studies and when I started working it will be about the job of course. Thankfully I don't think I have very much experience on the "So when are you getting married" bit but I believe it was because I got married at a rather young age. Then of course we won't be spared on the "So when are you having babies" question.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My dad's side of the family is small so each year we only need to go to one place and spend about 2 hours there. If we meet all the relatives then fine if not better luck next year. This arrangement suits me just nice for I will always be free from the afternoon of the 1st day onwards and it will usually be movies and mahjong from then on! Woohoo!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then along came the Mrs. Her family and extended families are huge and they will all gather at her mum's place on the 2nd day. Being the boyfriend I will of course go over and hang around but I will be "let off" after a couple of hours to meet my mahjong kakis. This arrangement lasted until we got married of course. Once I am family the duration of my stay was automatically lengthened (I believe it was amongst the fine prints on the wedding certificate along with the "I cannot sleep before her" clause). Although there were some years when my dad needed me to fill in for their mahjong session hence I was able to make an early departure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now that I am a parent the Chinese New Year (CNY) has brought a different set of joy but I still feel the same set of pain. No, actually come to think of it, it is worse!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let us begin with the pre CNY days! One has to admire the Mrs's genuine joy and excitement for the CNY. She will always bug me to go with her to Chinatown to shop for the New Year decorations and goodies. I must add that being pregnant, be it with Isaac or the twins never dampen her spirit. She will still want to go. This year was even better for she decided that the 3 kids should not miss out on such nice festive mood so Ani and I were ordered to gear up and bring all the kids along. Needless to say it wasn't easy but honestly it wasn't that bad either. However I dare not imagine how are we going to cope with all 3 of them next year for the twins will definitely be able to run around and I am positive the Mrs will still want to continue her little tradition of going to enjoy the festive mood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seeing the kids dressed up in their chi-na clothing is probably the highlight for me. For this I have to thank the Mrs for her last minute scrambling through the online as well as actual retail shops for the cutest little clothing for all 3 of them. Searching for one is already hard as some you will no doubt testify to but to scrounge around for three is something else altogether. We should probably start earlier next year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the differences is unlike previous years we have to wait for the relatives to come so they can take a look at the kids. For those who could not make it we will have to go to their place to visit. I guess I should be happy that these people are taking such an interest in my kids and maybe I will in years to come but by then I’m rather sure their interest would have diminished.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most tiring and hardest part was the running around after my kids at the relatives' place to make sure they don't damage anything or injure themselves. Isaac was climbing up and down the sofas, opening cupboard doors and even rearranging some of the furniture to his own liking. Luke for now at least was restricted to crawling around but that did not stop him from getting up and reaching for the drinks and goodies that were laid out on the coffee table.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then there was Hayley who didn't fancy strangers holding her especially in our presence. Unfortunately for her being the only girl in the family and also the only grand daughter available all the other relatives wanted to hold her for a while. Besides watching over the boys I had to constantly look out for her to make sure she was not too traumatised by all the passing around. I'm certain it wasn't very pleasant at all for her and thank goodness the boys are generally alright with strangers carrying them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the many status updates and comments I saw on Facebook during that period I am sure I was not the only one who found it tough. In fact there were a number of people who were pleased that the CNY was over and stressing on how tired they were. I cannot imagine how an ex-neighbour of mine managed to bring her kids for visitings during the entire 15 days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having 3 kids also has this funny little effect on us. We will try and avoid giving red packets to strangers with children in the same room for we actually felt bad that should we give them one they will have to return us with three. As a result we will just shake on it and wished each other well. I could have sworn I saw a certain sense of relief on their face (kidding). I'm sorry friends, there is no running away for you guys so if you want to breakeven then you know there is really only one thing to do.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are some of the pictures that I have selected for this post. I will upload the rest of the pictures on my Facebook at a later date when I can find the time.</div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CCxvWhudvz6ehKN0qsQdbFDHtM4RckmBv6IkPZfu5JmRgycdzDR76iFmW5msa6sAs34oFkoes21NJcCpZn26CQZs-Rg01lv0Meelb15CeEbiVigPrSSrk9GPZHxGyVhvWF6BuUkI1-k/s1600-h/DSC_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CCxvWhudvz6ehKN0qsQdbFDHtM4RckmBv6IkPZfu5JmRgycdzDR76iFmW5msa6sAs34oFkoes21NJcCpZn26CQZs-Rg01lv0Meelb15CeEbiVigPrSSrk9GPZHxGyVhvWF6BuUkI1-k/s400/DSC_0028.JPG" vt="true" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Isaac still with a little of blue black just under his eye. </div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcvTPCyl-tAMy124xYKSlwfD8XGYkinh25HxsdBO4BO3Dc9DsTuiewzb7B5L-EdYLrqXE5Kv_m7NtZpuX7Cf_MN6hdSHMDkdXn-jrf9X7jhwzClQLVNwM-6pr6jyWYeiyQYbi7kgZirg/s1600-h/DSC_0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcvTPCyl-tAMy124xYKSlwfD8XGYkinh25HxsdBO4BO3Dc9DsTuiewzb7B5L-EdYLrqXE5Kv_m7NtZpuX7Cf_MN6hdSHMDkdXn-jrf9X7jhwzClQLVNwM-6pr6jyWYeiyQYbi7kgZirg/s400/DSC_0240.JPG" vt="true" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">For once Luke was not paying attention to the camera. Otherwise he will not have expression again. </div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJf_5-hHoraBMpzVtBx6xZcJa24suSz06vZsiUYYEffleugK0E2cnT0OxBNQgfPAapaQsicnGXvIElRLAq9KCO2KbJIzck6HmRl5lleeAzBiqpHvq1pRPP1LuISQAxBdo4Wg2IivPnB8/s1600-h/DSC_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJf_5-hHoraBMpzVtBx6xZcJa24suSz06vZsiUYYEffleugK0E2cnT0OxBNQgfPAapaQsicnGXvIElRLAq9KCO2KbJIzck6HmRl5lleeAzBiqpHvq1pRPP1LuISQAxBdo4Wg2IivPnB8/s400/DSC_0125.JPG" vt="true" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hayley with her usual big and round eyes. </div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4KCN4XcDAWfyKwsGQ9ZxOCl16jy8Y8RT_Wm_oziNdqFovhKGc8yB2J55aaQjHNZqOcqv7KbPF0SBsJ49In4IRywPyTwQPQ57hVb8RXXQ-WScggFEdDY7GlgyCONceHaamvkOi-gYjls/s1600-h/DSC_0182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4KCN4XcDAWfyKwsGQ9ZxOCl16jy8Y8RT_Wm_oziNdqFovhKGc8yB2J55aaQjHNZqOcqv7KbPF0SBsJ49In4IRywPyTwQPQ57hVb8RXXQ-WScggFEdDY7GlgyCONceHaamvkOi-gYjls/s400/DSC_0182.JPG" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our pride and joy! </div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKpVFalQANM8Tr7E8QPPm1HFRxzsaqaRbWfTMCGUG_KlGmUyApg1OzGT5M5evkG1tuN5y9RHxJcxCg-QxZqALgqyBGE6EyvUho28sFqHgUqWK12EanBz5lHfPvgCkisXTDNgSjF4AojQ/s1600-h/DSC_0195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKpVFalQANM8Tr7E8QPPm1HFRxzsaqaRbWfTMCGUG_KlGmUyApg1OzGT5M5evkG1tuN5y9RHxJcxCg-QxZqALgqyBGE6EyvUho28sFqHgUqWK12EanBz5lHfPvgCkisXTDNgSjF4AojQ/s400/DSC_0195.JPG" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The traditional potrait taken during CNY at Godma's place!</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-1772392308773101842010-02-18T15:26:00.001+08:002010-02-18T15:29:16.298+08:00Twins' 1st Birthday<div style="text-align: justify;">It's official! I'm considered old and it is not because of the New Year or this being my year (Tiger). There was a recent study done and it has been found that the younger generation's interest in blogging and twittering has dropped over the years. These days they are more into "micro-blogging" like status updating on Facebook. The reason I took so long to blog was because I was struggling within if I should continue to blog and be deemed as "Out" and "so 2006" or should I remain with the "In" crowd and only update my FB status. In the end I decided to remain true to my age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seriously, with the Twins' birthday celebration, the Chinese New Year as well as work, we have been really busy. Furthermore I had to wait for about 2 weeks to receive the thumb stick with all the photographs from the photographer that we engaged, no thanks to the air show where he had to do some work there. This is the real reason why it took me so long to have this post up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of Photographers, blogging does have its advantages. Take you all for example, amongst you readers there are already a couple of you who are in the photography business. The few that I had contacted and considered were also very kind to offer me discounts. Maybe you appreciate the financial strain in having to raise 3 kids through reading my blog. In the end due to the clash of schedules we were not able to engage the one that we wanted but this reader was very nice to recommend her associate to us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just like Isaac's birthday we kept this party to a small group of friends and families only. As a matter of fact the people that we invited are probably more or less the same. Another similarity with Isaac's party is that the theme is also ice cream but instead of Ben & Jerry's we held it this time at Swensen's @ ION. Since we were celebrating 2 birthdays we figured we could not offer only a single scope of ice cream to our guests. We need an ice cream buffet for them!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typically being the hosts we did not have much opportunity to truly enjoy the ice cream buffet. We were busy going around mingling and making sure that our guests were comfortable and enjoying themselves. I only managed one round of ice cream and only 2 scoops at that. I believe I will try and go back for a proper experience. Besides the many flavours, there were also many different kinds of toppings as well as fondues, waffle and many other ways of having your ice cream.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who made it to celebrate this joyous occasion with us. Below are just a handful of the pictures that were taken on that day. For the rest of it you know where to find them. Guess I'm not so "Out" after all huh?!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobwM5OhkI3CEH2A72gcV6QHmmzC2rnXT_ltnNkmla7-xP6ulV1kd0sTCenit6sB9lsVfHKUc5jR5KIU9UL0YpzdzlzQfhtOScSBaNY44ogq9HHRQyLy8uOMWdW3aD1Dxn2ZQLpcydygY/s1600-h/DSC_0426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobwM5OhkI3CEH2A72gcV6QHmmzC2rnXT_ltnNkmla7-xP6ulV1kd0sTCenit6sB9lsVfHKUc5jR5KIU9UL0YpzdzlzQfhtOScSBaNY44ogq9HHRQyLy8uOMWdW3aD1Dxn2ZQLpcydygY/s400/DSC_0426.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center">Meet the birthday girl!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyanNcQJeOXnM96z_3XehMD-CM8ShQ-tsgi0VrkHlemyrDuANclizUjzpXLgJuX1uyPlNcAuh5-50fxEUnPZy5dW0XDwC4LnDkvR36T3cdN6-DDuvDFln4ISgDdfKhodDE7km1U1Es0J0/s1600-h/DSC_0518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyanNcQJeOXnM96z_3XehMD-CM8ShQ-tsgi0VrkHlemyrDuANclizUjzpXLgJuX1uyPlNcAuh5-50fxEUnPZy5dW0XDwC4LnDkvR36T3cdN6-DDuvDFln4ISgDdfKhodDE7km1U1Es0J0/s400/DSC_0518.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meet the birthday boy!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtIn3WJaoIR0I_A3DV2yQ-L2lJ_f-K0VXHJkmjq2smHpgEYf4_1Vd9ubxzFKjcCZFa5RYZXO4meC1HUautEkzPkkjbVXPwKej3No7uDx_q_xhri2kVFzmKifXm8tfmlTfWeVwY5Ph9WA/s1600-h/DSC_0610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtIn3WJaoIR0I_A3DV2yQ-L2lJ_f-K0VXHJkmjq2smHpgEYf4_1Vd9ubxzFKjcCZFa5RYZXO4meC1HUautEkzPkkjbVXPwKej3No7uDx_q_xhri2kVFzmKifXm8tfmlTfWeVwY5Ph9WA/s400/DSC_0610.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meet the big brother!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNu0o-0ZMKFq-rDkyJtWKq2pcip5sPsqNi9Qby_T0D7po7ZuB47Ajyv-dAecJahq6dbUlPG7FkDq25VlSSKu2HVtRsB80DRZYimwRwbO8fir9V3eBQ1H_x-tjBfMvHVutDIt_q_IS-QI/s1600-h/DSC_0717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNu0o-0ZMKFq-rDkyJtWKq2pcip5sPsqNi9Qby_T0D7po7ZuB47Ajyv-dAecJahq6dbUlPG7FkDq25VlSSKu2HVtRsB80DRZYimwRwbO8fir9V3eBQ1H_x-tjBfMvHVutDIt_q_IS-QI/s400/DSC_0717.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meet the family!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uFvi96zjMFGfU7WxV8hhmXOs8vyVPDwfZJLiS5sn268Z-w_0Dm4H7ZVyxcN0afGlERrgM_8tORE-8XLHijH4tT-XJZylLDv9btWd21OKwZcRwqb9zg2lf-3RoWTsXLtf0W-3gEzyh_o/s1600-h/DSC_0738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uFvi96zjMFGfU7WxV8hhmXOs8vyVPDwfZJLiS5sn268Z-w_0Dm4H7ZVyxcN0afGlERrgM_8tORE-8XLHijH4tT-XJZylLDv9btWd21OKwZcRwqb9zg2lf-3RoWTsXLtf0W-3gEzyh_o/s400/DSC_0738.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Cake!</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXhihW8_DMDitD0Ia-iUd6lafB_BJ_TydrEYI6rcDVWxFhp4csP9-Byheu0F0whhTmZKXJicuf4EC26inSPu5eV06tddVNNfZI0R4JgumKoBHcpUQu12NP10JXLFeD7wCr2PxroboAdI/s1600-h/DSC_0415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXhihW8_DMDitD0Ia-iUd6lafB_BJ_TydrEYI6rcDVWxFhp4csP9-Byheu0F0whhTmZKXJicuf4EC26inSPu5eV06tddVNNfZI0R4JgumKoBHcpUQu12NP10JXLFeD7wCr2PxroboAdI/s400/DSC_0415.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These were the souvenirs that we gave to all our guests on that day.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">What were they exactly?</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">M&M's chocolates printed with the twins' faces!</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivXv64GaHc9-mtWqoiibTzn8rFZr6VQjFfLNYq1Irmceg8UFoGq0izQ2CSj8I8a1qz1AZiujQRzhX9UuNnFkM9Ro3H2VwOywWm12N70oAB0hQvIPNbBg80j7nuR3mHrcrv7ni_78JkjI/s1600-h/Luke+%26+Hayley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivXv64GaHc9-mtWqoiibTzn8rFZr6VQjFfLNYq1Irmceg8UFoGq0izQ2CSj8I8a1qz1AZiujQRzhX9UuNnFkM9Ro3H2VwOywWm12N70oAB0hQvIPNbBg80j7nuR3mHrcrv7ni_78JkjI/s400/Luke+%26+Hayley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These were the wordings that we chose to be printed on the M&M's.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrfHBPy2rQS7swloLgc8A9Ub-srMjEkuft6J2qa-C5rwCr4zYq5PScBvH3hhzvvNX99kKdy_kLCwadVyKM-DWgKs2_qEJUNq4vJfUCaP0ldnrPkOJj7l2q0r54RXS6ewUvyL9qWAyI0Q/s1600-h/Luke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrfHBPy2rQS7swloLgc8A9Ub-srMjEkuft6J2qa-C5rwCr4zYq5PScBvH3hhzvvNX99kKdy_kLCwadVyKM-DWgKs2_qEJUNq4vJfUCaP0ldnrPkOJj7l2q0r54RXS6ewUvyL9qWAyI0Q/s400/Luke.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Picture of Luke printed on the M&M's!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4xJnZIwJoeO4oZWBDiAipRKG71w6RBjKHl-Hn2sLwTNAaho9Z7fezxVbOKw7UO9hUyGef0KWKai0yRUAucyb-GgnHeRHTtL_qElLYs5rtiC8x3hsciiGw-JQpJ4iVqDJdhq_QgVHKlU/s1600-h/Hayley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4xJnZIwJoeO4oZWBDiAipRKG71w6RBjKHl-Hn2sLwTNAaho9Z7fezxVbOKw7UO9hUyGef0KWKai0yRUAucyb-GgnHeRHTtL_qElLYs5rtiC8x3hsciiGw-JQpJ4iVqDJdhq_QgVHKlU/s400/Hayley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Picture of Hayley printed on the M&M's!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbMg_7de4OgOHlo01TwqiwuYhLH_AMZBxqsRy-VZyHQMXr0X9jVEqZpUytV64eYe5SwCs35Tl1kxJFokSUjghNdheUEDd27fcWZUe9mMFQiSNkHq1fM9nHf31WftlyCHVAK5o05w3HYk/s1600-h/Both.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbMg_7de4OgOHlo01TwqiwuYhLH_AMZBxqsRy-VZyHQMXr0X9jVEqZpUytV64eYe5SwCs35Tl1kxJFokSUjghNdheUEDd27fcWZUe9mMFQiSNkHq1fM9nHf31WftlyCHVAK5o05w3HYk/s400/Both.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Don't they look good enough to eat?</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-70470510459581713062010-01-28T10:26:00.001+08:002010-01-28T10:27:58.547+08:00From PM to AM<div style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned in an earlier post that this year will bring many changes for Isaac but I wasn’t counting on two things. Firstly Isaac had to re-experience another learning environment so soon after starting school and secondly, I had to wake up before 7 each morning from now on.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This week is like another new school term for Isaac because we had switched him to a morning class. We were all along hoping to get into the morning session but at the time of application for this school we were already on the waitlist so there was no need to even discuss which session we preferred. When they called us to tell us that they were opening new classes we happy to be have Isaac enrolled even if he was assigned to the afternoon session.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then came the call last Thursday. I was offered the chance to move Isaac to the morning session. I told the lady I need to discuss this with the Mrs, Ani and my parents before getting back to them. After all it involves a number of people when it comes to sending and picking him up from school.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Surprisingly everyone agreed that it is a good move although my mum was a little reluctant. Like me she was concerned about Isaac having to readapt to another class and teachers. He has just gotten used to the original class as well as the teachers, he would even say goodbye to my dad when entering the classroom, and we have to move him now.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He being in the morning session is good for everyone because this way the Mrs and I get to drop him off at the school each morning while my dad only has to pick him up at 11am. This compared to when he was in the afternoon session and my dad had to send and pick him. I believe deep down we all know this is a better arrangement even though we know Isaac might have to “suffer” a little during the first week or so. Better now then when he is really comfortable months later right?<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Monday was a little trying for all of us. We used to be able to sleep till about 7.30 each morning but we have to wake up like latest by 7 each morning. In order not to be late we will have to organize our own things each night.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As expected Isaac was not too happy when he was introduced to his new classroom and teachers. He actually turned cranky and cried a little when we handed him over to the new form teacher.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh I forgot to add that because most of the students in this new class are rather settled down, the teacher has decided to allow the kids to stay for the entire 3 hours. Parents who are concerned can choose to still pick up their kids half way. When I was given the option last week I had already decided to let him stay for the full 3 hours. I had an agreement with the teacher though, I will be on standby somewhere and if she finds that Isaac cannot last the 3 hours she is to call me and I will pick him up. Hence I was on childcare leave on Monday.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides getting a little cranky for the first 2 mornings when we led him to his class Isaac actually did quite well. He lasted the 3 hours and was seen having fun in class. The next two days he fared even better for he isn’t as cranky. There is however still this little issue that we have to sort out. He doesn’t like us to put on the socks and shoes for him. This has been the case since day 2 of the term. Each time someone puts on the socks and shoes for him he will refuse and cry.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Initially we thought that perhaps the shoes were tight so he was uncomfortable so the Mrs and I went out one evening to buy him bigger size shoes. Isaac is wearing size 6 now so we wanted to get size 7 but with a little silver on the side. They only had size 8 for that so I told the Mrs to buy it and pick another one in size 7. My rationale is he will be wearing it eventually anyway. At least this saves me the trouble of having to search in the future.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYg61B0QA1Y7vNXWJbVaNVgJ0LwMVJDqxT9Ws9CPuRwp6d2SKZugkMmRSKZq0xFhNN77wpmsY35hQRwUP0ZuiwF4U39btdEX7qnY14KqsiVVrzMmnkMEQtEvnc53vzp1sKpk1bZG7mQo/s1600-h/IMG_0510%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYg61B0QA1Y7vNXWJbVaNVgJ0LwMVJDqxT9Ws9CPuRwp6d2SKZugkMmRSKZq0xFhNN77wpmsY35hQRwUP0ZuiwF4U39btdEX7qnY14KqsiVVrzMmnkMEQtEvnc53vzp1sKpk1bZG7mQo/s400/IMG_0510%5B1%5D" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">His current size 6<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnD36eAv37jj_Z2o3dk23Z_-t3DHuKMq-wjqhmYQx3ncsy8NqDS8S1J_Y-HVZg6BJ-8y2Pve7l_B1wg0LeY7eGE8mR2pzdKJkmmQkL9yIWTPhS0180HUoCY_8f4yaj4WYwTwuJUHfbtjU/s1600-h/IMG_0511%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnD36eAv37jj_Z2o3dk23Z_-t3DHuKMq-wjqhmYQx3ncsy8NqDS8S1J_Y-HVZg6BJ-8y2Pve7l_B1wg0LeY7eGE8mR2pzdKJkmmQkL9yIWTPhS0180HUoCY_8f4yaj4WYwTwuJUHfbtjU/s400/IMG_0511%5B1%5D" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">His new size 7 shoes on standby.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXihTXguv3IrvVDx7ljpjKFSPd64K0KqYm-hBwGWL3kVYoYvv78IxGE3ylBQMY2P0DVMFxNge_PwR4Fz9W5xZ3-2tKvrNGVB8oRXc9qYBpsqyKeTg7j3qSeQN9EkgdYos7CMcEcPjdGU/s1600-h/IMG_0512%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXihTXguv3IrvVDx7ljpjKFSPd64K0KqYm-hBwGWL3kVYoYvv78IxGE3ylBQMY2P0DVMFxNge_PwR4Fz9W5xZ3-2tKvrNGVB8oRXc9qYBpsqyKeTg7j3qSeQN9EkgdYos7CMcEcPjdGU/s400/IMG_0512%5B1%5D" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">His size 8 shoes for the future!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHbW0o1leeUW299EWdKc3F_-mOo8Q6L9CmP3ZATKx7TOWjDwZUUVHQTNgOoTyPOfpXjgpUplCvgAv1mQ2L498G2hIMqeKuUyl-MO6um7PQG6uhM-dn6ek1o2pRUv5FwdAHmzTtup7zh0/s1600-h/IMG_0513%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHbW0o1leeUW299EWdKc3F_-mOo8Q6L9CmP3ZATKx7TOWjDwZUUVHQTNgOoTyPOfpXjgpUplCvgAv1mQ2L498G2hIMqeKuUyl-MO6um7PQG6uhM-dn6ek1o2pRUv5FwdAHmzTtup7zh0/s400/IMG_0513%5B1%5D" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Can you tell the difference?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The best part is we realized after we got home that actually his size 6 shoes are still alright. It might be another few more weeks before he needs to change them. So now we are back at where we started. Why doesn’t he like us to put the socks and shoes on? Some might say it could be psychological as in he doesn’t want to go to school but if that is the case then he should have cried each morning when Ani puts on the uniform for him. Any suggestions or advice from you experience parents will be appreciated.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of socks, something happened many months ago and I thought I should share with you for I find it quite funny.<br />
<br />
I bought myself a few pairs of socks to wear with my snickers and when the Mrs saw it for the first time she remarked:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Dsy983D8WiPe1OnEUC6dCxClsUNgPcE1KJBqeZiodnhUJWT-o_u6Q754YgWpO-E2jEqY1lGkKo7gy1KT_Aw77HlRE8F0V6qwu-A98c81vwWxx8m1pEkJMBsfCvpbeSNdrsML5cIBUgs/s1600-h/IMG_0514%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Dsy983D8WiPe1OnEUC6dCxClsUNgPcE1KJBqeZiodnhUJWT-o_u6Q754YgWpO-E2jEqY1lGkKo7gy1KT_Aw77HlRE8F0V6qwu-A98c81vwWxx8m1pEkJMBsfCvpbeSNdrsML5cIBUgs/s400/IMG_0514%5B1%5D" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Notice the 'L' on the sock?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs (a little proud and a little mockingly at the same time): Wah someone has to wear size “L” socks now ah?<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me (a little worried and walking hurriedly over): Sure or not? Can’t be right? Thought they are all free size?<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs (teasingly): You see. (Pointing the L on my sock)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JPrZpaVEtXbBH_qmD9ToUTcdDf74t7DEvhP2H4LoBa5OPUK0P090GMo2YG8vy0P6bjOANqIu-k5eyxXpuByDHwswHV3an6w7oGunPMWbtgz-hJZyiodV6paUGQQr38U9Wk6Nn7OoNH4/s1600-h/IMG_0515%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JPrZpaVEtXbBH_qmD9ToUTcdDf74t7DEvhP2H4LoBa5OPUK0P090GMo2YG8vy0P6bjOANqIu-k5eyxXpuByDHwswHV3an6w7oGunPMWbtgz-hJZyiodV6paUGQQr38U9Wk6Nn7OoNH4/s400/IMG_0515%5B1%5D" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Notice the 'R'?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me (relieved and proudly): Aiya no lah! Hello! “L” is for left! See! (Picking up the other sock)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: hahahahaha (I could have sworn I could almost sense the disappointment in her)<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-71438760404230359642010-01-19T10:06:00.000+08:002010-01-19T10:06:34.229+08:00First week in school<div style="text-align: justify;">Do you all remember how it all went down during your very first day of school? I for one remembered mine very clearly for some strange reason. It was not as if it was very traumatic in the first place.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like most of you (I imagine we are all about the same age right?) I did not attend any playschool or nursery so my first year was straight to kindergarten and I attended the good old neighbourhood PAP ones.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From what I can recalled my Mum was asking me if I would cry in school and I assured her that I would not but I was affected by the other crying kids (really it’s true) and ended up crying too. What happened next was very interesting. I remembered that there was this dark kitchen in the PAP facility and the teachers were taking the crying kids, one at a time, into the kitchen area only to return without them. Suddenly alarm bells started going off in my mind. I probably thought that the teachers brought the noisy kids in to be slaughtered so I stopped crying there and then. As I got older I learned that the teachers brought the cry babies to their parents through the backdoor.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That was about my experience but guess you weren’t here for that right? What you really want to know is how Isaac fared during his first week in school. Not how his old man went through all those years ago.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You will be glad to know that Isaac did extremely well on his first day. You can tell he was excited and he even posed for some photo taking. He was also excited to be carrying his own bag and tumbler. When we arrived he was quietly observing everything that was happening around him and wasn’t cranky at all. He walked quietly besides my dad and was led into his classroom unknowingly. Since we opted not to remain in class we left the classroom as soon as he was in. The poor fellow didn’t even know what hit him. He probably turned around and no one was there anymore.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was alright in the beginning sitting down at the same table while a mum was reading to her child. He then got bored and wandered around on his own. However he soon started to miss us and wanted to go to the main door and that was when the teacher picked him up but he continued to point at the door. She then carried him to all the different corners of the classroom to try and distract him but we could see that he was pouting and his eyes were red and teary but full credit to him for he did not cry (yes, to this father, tearing and crying are two different things). Not wanting to risk being spotted by him, kids know to look at the glass panel on the doors; we left to do our own things only to come back about 15 minutes before his classes finishes to pick him.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When we came back we were glad to see that he was all settled down and looked to be having fun although he wasn’t smiling. He was one of the first few to be released and to see the bright and cheeky smile certainly helped us, the parents and grandparents overcome our anxiety. It is also good to learn that my boy does not bare grudges and yes you read right, Isaac was indeed escorted by 4 adults on his first day of school.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The feedback from his teacher was he only cried when she asked him to eat his meal. We forgot to mention to her in the beginning that he is not too big on eating so let him be if he chooses not to eat. Hence without knowing the teacher tried to get him to eat time and again which Isaac must have felt like being forced to eat hence he cried. He apparently returned to his usual self once meal time was over.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On his second day we could sense that something was wrong because he refused to put on the uniform and when we put on his white shoes he cried. I was worried that he would remembered his 1st day in school and not be as cooperative for the coming days and my worry came through but only to a certain extend.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thankfully he was only a little cranky when putting on his uniform and he was alright during the journey to school. He only acted up again when I carried him into the hall leading to his class. By the time we entered his classroom he was crying already. I did what I was supposed to do and that was to simply hand him to the teacher and left the classroom with him crying.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the next 10 minutes or so we were playing hide and seek by the glass panel trying to catch a glimpse to see if he had stopped or was he still miserable. I am proud to say that he stopped crying within 5 minutes of me leaving him. Since his class was only for 1.15 hours during this 1st month we waited in school and we made regular visits to take a peek at how he was doing.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The same continued for the 3rd day and we saw improvement on Thursday and Friday for my dad reported that although he turned cranky at home when they changed him, he did not cry in school at all.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That ended our very nervous first week of Isaac attending school. I am truly grateful that he did not cry and wailed like some of the other kids. Looking at the parents’ body language and apologetic look, I almost wanted to go over and tell them that it was okay and as fellow parents, we understand.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAf2otr9XdHtF7BJiFqo9vrwAQTQzq0VxfYJJRR-ieX-o1dzZXoG-XkJBowNn6TPU-F6WhbmRIIYx6KbxB-cOEGMTszhdAEWxyxLb_K1C7dmiiqJROnkfCuqqbAv1fPbOSmQ4ajcC4oI/s1600-h/IMG_0464%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAf2otr9XdHtF7BJiFqo9vrwAQTQzq0VxfYJJRR-ieX-o1dzZXoG-XkJBowNn6TPU-F6WhbmRIIYx6KbxB-cOEGMTszhdAEWxyxLb_K1C7dmiiqJROnkfCuqqbAv1fPbOSmQ4ajcC4oI/s400/IMG_0464%5B1%5D" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Fussing over and getting him ready for his 1st day in school.<br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfNGAJiQx5jTKSjIwIW0RtKWU8IIaYvW1UlElLYTh_irXWogDkcHq9-sifFPegKN-ndHXIxV798YXWUAPde8qoQZVR9GT6ukOr84krixj9ssXBuNAd_moigPwSyWhdd301fcelPQJrCY/s1600-h/IMG_0465%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfNGAJiQx5jTKSjIwIW0RtKWU8IIaYvW1UlElLYTh_irXWogDkcHq9-sifFPegKN-ndHXIxV798YXWUAPde8qoQZVR9GT6ukOr84krixj9ssXBuNAd_moigPwSyWhdd301fcelPQJrCY/s400/IMG_0465%5B1%5D" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Waiting in line to be brought to his class. Looked kind of lost ya?<br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdCE7gX9dWVt8ErPTmKGme-l2H8dQcHBLwESfQ9eXExJ0op7imSnrefxV442smthieq0jGKSRp1ws-JVm9063ZKwR43DXFz4CP8bSq3-xlbrQzaKVgyLUCf8NCTXpmHj3fapMiRtUzbQ/s1600-h/IMG_0466%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdCE7gX9dWVt8ErPTmKGme-l2H8dQcHBLwESfQ9eXExJ0op7imSnrefxV442smthieq0jGKSRp1ws-JVm9063ZKwR43DXFz4CP8bSq3-xlbrQzaKVgyLUCf8NCTXpmHj3fapMiRtUzbQ/s400/IMG_0466%5B1%5D" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">His cheeky self before school!<br />
</div></div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-61466543808559796362010-01-08T11:21:00.002+08:002010-01-08T12:07:57.583+08:00'Motherly' Father<div style="text-align: justify;">This week I have seen the Mrs sniggered and roll her eyes at me countless times. Looking back now it is also possibly the one week that I feel most maternal. I was so stressed up by Isaac going to school that there wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t check, double and triple check with the Mrs on the things that we need to prepare.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were times that I deliberately added in some stuff just to get on her nerve for rolling her eyes at me.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: Oh! Have we washed his uniform?<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (gave me the ‘here-we-go-again’ smile) Don’t know.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: Oh! We have to prepare the fruit too.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (didn’t even bother to reply. Just continued with her ‘smile’)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: What about his tumbler? We need to replace this one since he can’t open or close on his own.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (again no response. Not even a smile now. Just continued reading her magazine)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: (a little irritated by now) Hey! We have not even prepared his pencil case and stationery.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (very irritated by now. Rolled her eyes) Ai yo! He doesn’t need pencil and stationery yet!<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: (with a smug look) I know!<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I can’t really blame her but at the same time it is also not really my fault. I was merely thinking out loud while driving. Plus the fact is we really have not gotten some of the stuff ready till today.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We actually got him a new tumbler some months back but we learned later that he is not able to open and close the catch on his own for it is very tight. Guess we’ll have to bring him along this weekend to pick another one.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The school requires him to bring an uncut fruit everyday and we hadn’t gotten that yet but in her defense it is probably better to buy them nearer Monday.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides the above there are other issues as well.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: How do you think they are going to manage bringing the kids up and down the stairs? Isaac will have problem because he needs to hold on to the side railings.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (a little annoyed) I’m sure the school knows what to do.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: (picturing him and his classmates struggling at the stairs) Oh I know! I’m sure they will use the lift. They have to use the lift right since I’m sure many of the N1 kids will not be so good at climbing up and down the stairs yet.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (shook her head)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The below happened last night on our way home from my parents’ place.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: Ani, have you washed Isaac’s uniform?<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (the same ‘smile’ again)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ani: Yes. They’re washed.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: What is that smile for?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (really trying hard not to laugh) No, I was playing with Luke that’s all.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: Eh?! I think he has not gotten the school socks yet right? It was out of stock right?<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ani: Yup. We do not have his socks yet.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: Then how?! (picturing him in his white shoes without socks)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: (irritated) Ai ya! We let him wear normal white socks for the first day lah!<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: Oh ya, right! (silly smile)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Actually I may have inherited this behaviour from my mum or maybe I was the one who influenced her.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She knew I was trying to get Isaac accustomed to his bag by pinning the Mickey Mouse button and name tag. One day while she was showing Isaac his bag with the Mickey Mouse and trying to reinforce the idea into him, she went up to my dad as well and told to remember to pick up the right bag.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Ani the conversation went something like this.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mum: Eh, you make sure you remember to pick up the right bag ya? The one with the Mickey Mouse button and name tag.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dad: (finding it funny and annoying at the same time) Ya lah! I’m already in my 60’s so I’m sure I’ll know which bag is his ok?! Sheez.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mrs complained that it is only his Nursery 1 and I am behaving like this she can’t imagine what I will do when he attends Primary 1. However I have the feeling that I may not be so anxious because this is after all his very first day in a school. By the time he attends Primary 1 he would have four years or training in a school environment so I should be able to fare better.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We’ll have to see what both Isaac and I are made of first come Monday. After that I have the twins’ first day of school to handle. Will it be double the anxiousness for me?<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-30573336811628145372010-01-04T11:38:00.002+08:002010-01-05T10:59:19.676+08:00The student, the stand and plastic cups<div style="text-align: justify;">Many look forward to the New Year as it brings along new hope and new beginnings. For others it could mean new environment and new people in their lives. For Isaac this year will surely bring many new and exciting changes for him.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For starter he will be officially going to Nursery 1 in exactly one week’s time. Till now I am still very nervous on this behalf. I am preparing myself for his teary eyes and maybe even wails. I remembered asking a reader how did she cope sending both her daughters to school last year and she said the best thing to do is for us to simply drop them off and go for our own cuppa and be back in time to pick him up later. This is the same advice given by the Principal. She claims it is better for the child in the long run and will help him/her settle in much faster. So this is exactly what we will do. We made up our mind during the ‘meet-the-parents’ session and there is no turning back now.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">People have been asking me if I have prepared Isaac for school but besides telling him I am not sure what else is there to do. I’m rather certain he does not even grasp the concept of school yet. The closest thing to school for him was the weekly enrichment class that he attended. All I can do now is perhaps to let him get used to his school bag. We were told by his form teacher to help him identify his school bag for all the kids are carrying the bags. To achieve this we have decided to add a couple of the Mickey Mouse (his favourite cartoon character for now) pin and tag on his bag.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Below are some pictures of him in his school uniform.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxw8veZ9s9rUsAa_-_l56nhjBLNAoi1VNaZMZzzcCxLfvk6cyiXa_CeWQTLySZFuH2BQawqu7gwsgK2gUCQi1g_cECRj5IMNQbyGez5-sVxynXTYAQe8d3aPU-Rb5qN0cRPDLAIaRaME/s1600-h/IMG_0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxw8veZ9s9rUsAa_-_l56nhjBLNAoi1VNaZMZzzcCxLfvk6cyiXa_CeWQTLySZFuH2BQawqu7gwsgK2gUCQi1g_cECRj5IMNQbyGez5-sVxynXTYAQe8d3aPU-Rb5qN0cRPDLAIaRaME/s400/IMG_0268.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes the pants look a little to big but they are already the smallest!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TRAF4JNDPTVJTkaGmcHkggEBMuFeWzno4yk-vpEXsYaLed3UdEDwboW16-8rmUZAUCwYjGnncxT4iIK-DS5u2C_jUZuCMaSGDjpnXY-zWj0U8N9CgAdMjbTZ4HqdOJo18DpMYieTH3A/s1600-h/IMG_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TRAF4JNDPTVJTkaGmcHkggEBMuFeWzno4yk-vpEXsYaLed3UdEDwboW16-8rmUZAUCwYjGnncxT4iIK-DS5u2C_jUZuCMaSGDjpnXY-zWj0U8N9CgAdMjbTZ4HqdOJo18DpMYieTH3A/s400/IMG_0270.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now even the shirt looks big!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eD2UTomdEpT-sjQSSPKAK33eSTQ4Y1ZelpZwgzhs0bDVnjcXLPBBGjzmTVBBWgPTobY_mENT06xDRTe02rGfQj_stsZQwW_D-w0qqmj-i2AvkFo4A6dXhhtdsNO1t0Ws2BogDImFlvU/s1600-h/IMG_0272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eD2UTomdEpT-sjQSSPKAK33eSTQ4Y1ZelpZwgzhs0bDVnjcXLPBBGjzmTVBBWgPTobY_mENT06xDRTe02rGfQj_stsZQwW_D-w0qqmj-i2AvkFo4A6dXhhtdsNO1t0Ws2BogDImFlvU/s400/IMG_0272.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Looks better sitting down, I think.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYS2yz8DUUHapKP4ujxUYvngByyAxGfWgvpEozwqi6h2Z_Xe8H72WU0Yc-jRJ1v_7QYxI9AIvDAUrfJLjHzNnQUa7m79-unn5-o1cq3OunTnaErYUZceHDVXGmIuDLgC6Oi7ij6_9SBYc/s1600-h/IMG_0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYS2yz8DUUHapKP4ujxUYvngByyAxGfWgvpEozwqi6h2Z_Xe8H72WU0Yc-jRJ1v_7QYxI9AIvDAUrfJLjHzNnQUa7m79-unn5-o1cq3OunTnaErYUZceHDVXGmIuDLgC6Oi7ij6_9SBYc/s400/IMG_0271.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Finally a close up on his cheekyness<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRV0WfLT15vcVWDGmJ1ah67jjO4Y4EBK8Hulxmc2BlipbD8ry2x55wKmEIP-VpZe751B6XtpMuX3mBL5uyAon1wzz8tkjXGBzZAlReciw5QrbiG9EtauokzCWpt3ioy2fN2Si4J-XNxgI/s1600-h/192136.3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRV0WfLT15vcVWDGmJ1ah67jjO4Y4EBK8Hulxmc2BlipbD8ry2x55wKmEIP-VpZe751B6XtpMuX3mBL5uyAon1wzz8tkjXGBzZAlReciw5QrbiG9EtauokzCWpt3ioy2fN2Si4J-XNxgI/s320/192136.3.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I really like his smile on this picture. Very natural.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I heard that it is usually harder for the fathers to let go when it comes to things like this. Is this true? The Mrs seems pretty relaxed about the whole thing so far. I believe Sunday will be a sleepless night for me.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile the twins are making good progress of their own. They have just turned 11 months yesterday and Luke is defying all the saying about girls being faster. Up till now he is usually about a couple of weeks ahead of Hayley in terms of development.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He started to sit up first before Hayley can sit on her own a week of two later. Luke is also the first to crawl and is still crawling faster and steadier than Hayley. These days Luke is showing signs that he is ready to make his own stand, literally. He is able to stand unassisted for about 5 seconds or so. He usually helps himself up with our bed and then let go before falling on his bum. Hayley while standing assisted doesn’t look too keen on making her own stand yet.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking at them now we are gearing up for the chaos that they will bring once they are able to walk and run. As it is we are having a hard time caring for them alone when they decide to crawl in the opposite direction while Isaac is happily running around and climbing up and down. I do not believe anything in the world can truly prepare for what we are about to face.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I told the Mrs a couple of weeks ago that we may have to forgo eating out for the next 2 to 3 years if Isaac’s current behaviour is anything to go by. While it is easier to sit him down in the highchair when we eat, his patience will not last long.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are usually a few things that we can do to distract him. Perhaps this might come in handy for you too.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We start off by letting him have his own cutleries and place some food on his plate and let him have his way with it. Half the times he will be succeed in feeding himself while other times we will see him spilling the food on the floor or on himself.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once he has had enough of the food he will want to get off or will target our ice water or whatever cold drinks we have on the table. These days we have to resort to telling the waitresses not to bring us our ice water until we tell them to. Isaac has developed the habit of pouring water from one cup to another. We have resorted to bringing small plastic cups (those that the restaurants give out for ice water) out so that he can last that much longer in the highchair while we gobble down our food. The end result for his is usually Isaac wetting himself with the water in the cups.<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-25142850814517737892009-12-22T17:31:00.000+08:002009-12-22T17:31:23.725+08:00Ideas?<div style="text-align: justify;">Wow! I can’t believe it has been almost a month since my last post. A recent chat message from the Mrs on WhatsApp (you iPhone owners will know) goes like this:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs: Hey. You have not updated your blog for a month liao.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me: I know. I’ve been so busy with the CES. I’ll see what I can squeeze out before the end of the year.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To say I have been busy in December is really an understatement. There are also times when I wanted to post about the kids’ development but by the time I gotten down to writing things have changed again and what I had in mind originally suddenly seem so yesterday.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So this time I am blogging about things that are more general. Just yesterday the Mrs commented that this year’s Christmas seems boring and asked me if I have any ideas on how to make it more interesting. Frankly speaking my feel towards Christmas has always been the same. I like the hype leading up to Christmas so this means that about a month before the actual day I will get all excited by the buying of presents and nice decorations around me. Unfortunately Christmas Day is always an anti-climax for me. All the hype will eventually lead to nothing. It will usually turn out to be another public holiday where we do nothing special.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only exception was probably last year when (some of you might remember) we were busy with Isaac’s first birthday bash. We were so occupied with the celebration and making sure that everything is just perfect for our little man.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year I was also busy trying to explain to Isaac that when he sees Christmas trees and decorations up, it means his birthday is near and everyone is planning to celebrate it together with him. I don’t think he understands the concept yet at the tender age of one but this year I can definitely see progress. He definitely can recognize Christmas trees and will get all excited whenever he sees one. By the way his favourite is currently the one just outside Ion Orchard but I have not brought him to Ngee Ann City yet. He will always go ‘Wow!’ which incidentally is one of his favourite words now.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All that is left for me to do is to connect Christmas tree to his birthday and most importantly make him understand the concept of birthdays. Soon he will have to prepare a present for the Mrs. Some of you might remember a new family tradition for this Tan family and that is to have the kids prepare (too young to buy) a gift for their mum on their birthday.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year on the other hand things have gone back to how they usually were since we have no plans to celebrate Isaac’s birthday other than a small gathering that is limited to the family and his Godma of course.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My question to you fellow parents is where and what do you do on Christmas eve and day? Besides going to church of course. While we are at it what are your usual plans for New Year’s eve and day as well?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the young and single, they can always go to the countdown parties happening all over the island and get drunk and be merry. For the older couples who do not have to worry about their kids’ bedtime can always host their own parties at home where good friends and family can all come together for the big countdown and celebrate. That leaves the rest of us (the in-betweens). We can’t go out and get drunk for we have responsibilities at home. We can’t host a party at night for the countdown as well since most of us have our kids’ bedtime to worry about. I am really curious to know how do you, the more experience parents spend these 4 days.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Traveling is not an option now for I have 3 babies in case you forget. We won’t be traveling with them in tow at least now for another year or two. Then again traveling during this time of the year will burn a really big hole in my pocket, something I have to get used to eventually I guess.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Does parenthood mean the end of such celebrations? Is this just one of the many sacrifices that we parents are expected to make? Even if we can’t party and do the countdown then surely there must be nice family activities for the young (us parents) and the babies right?<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-48562731290259186362009-11-24T14:14:00.002+08:002009-12-22T15:15:12.162+08:00Remember<div style="text-align: justify;">I know for a fact that many of you readers are pregnant and some of you with twins some more. I couldn’t be happier for all of you. Some are you are probably pregnant for the first time hence there are many questions and worries which is normal. While our current journey doesn’t quite apply, you are welcome to go back to the beginning of this blog to find out what we went through.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If there is one advice that I can give you besides the usual “be careful”; “rest more”; “eat healthy”; “don’t jump”; “cannot lift heavy stuffs” etc, it will definitely be “<em><strong>enjoy and remember every moment</strong></em>”. I do not believe this is something that you hear very often from women who went through the whole ordeal. At least we didn’t.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Honestly the entire pregnancy will go by very quickly. We keep hearing parents say how times fly but from our experience this feeling actually starts to apply the minute you’re pregnant. As with all things we do not feel it until the whole event is over. It is usually related more to looking back.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It really didn’t dawn on me until recently when I have readers asked me about our pregnancies. I realize then that I could not answer most of the questions. Some of the more dramatic incidents I do remember of course. Episodes such as how the Mrs was spotting for the first time and being inexperienced then we were really worried (incidentally <a href="http://ahusband.blogspot.com/2007/06/scare.html"><span style="color: red;">this</span></a> is one of my favourite post) and of course the time when we were so close to losing the twins. Looking at the twins now it still gives me goose bumps whenever I recall the entire terrible <a href="http://ahusband.blogspot.com/2008/10/prayers.html"><span style="color: red;">incident</span></a> (one of the most touching post and comments page), how helpless we were and how hard the Mrs was crying.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, let’s not scare you ladies. I remembered I once blogged about having positive image and not listen to all the “<a href="http://ahusband.blogspot.com/2007/10/chickens.html"><span style="color: red;">chickens</span></a>” throughout your pregnancies (some of you readers will remember this post about chickens and eagles). Don’t let these “chickens” influence you with all their negative, sad and horrible stories about so and so and such and such. If it is not going to help with your pregnancy then tell them don’t bother to share.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I really want to tell you is to try and remember each moment and document what you are experiencing if possible. Believe me when I tell you this; with so many things happening and so much changes to the environment and your body, you will be hard-pressed to recall in details once the dust has settled. This is exactly what we are experiencing right now. Most things just seem so …………. vague. Many a time we need to remind each other so it is a good thing that we experienced both pregnancies together.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other good thing is of course how I managed to keep a blog and post on a weekly basis on the happenings during both pregnancies. So now when I cannot answer most of your questions I can always direct you to the earlier posts. For your sake I wish the titles are a little more precise and helpful about the topic but I have always preferred to keep it to one word to give it a sense of “huh”.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Things that I cannot remember are often related to the time scale also. So if you are looking at asking when did we do what scan and when did we do a certain test, I’m telling you now my mind draws a blank. They all seem rather close together but at the same time seem rather well spread out during the pregnancy.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I do remember something of the scans and tests of course. Details such as how long they took hence how long I had to wait to how expensive they were when we saw the bill. But if you mention the name of the test of scan to me, you might as well be speaking French to me as far as I’m concerned. That is how hopeless I am.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But by remembering I am not only referring to the name of the tests, scans, procedures and medicines. I am referring more to how you feel and experience at each stage of the journey. How much of the laksa or curry you have puked for example leaving such wonderful after taste that you will not crave for that bowl of laksa or curry perhaps till after the pregnancy. What about how many times you had to get up and drag yourself to the toilet only to find that you really need to get that 20ml of pee out of your bladder. Or the many sleepless nights that you have due to the weight and position of your child which is made worse by the solo performance (read snoring) by your husband? Who can forget the breathlessness that you experienced making every shopping trip so unforgettable? Suddenly covering Vivo City or Ngee Ann City does not seem like such a good idea after all.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not too long ago the Mrs made a scary remark to her colleague again. She said she missed the days of being pregnant and we all know what happened the last time she said something like that. I believe she is really just trying to relieve the moment in her mind instead of missing being pregnant.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So ladies, please take my advice. Enjoy each and every stage of your pregnancy now and most importantly try and find your own way to document so you can remember in years to come. It is truly an amazing journey and experience and we all know that good things often pass us by too quickly.<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-50001814931636367922009-11-18T12:01:00.002+08:002009-11-19T17:14:27.483+08:00Quiet<div style="text-align: justify;">It is the Mrs’s birthday today and for once the celebration has taken a back seat. It is not intentional of course but having 3 kids plus my busy schedule we have no choice but to have a quiet celebration this time. I will certainly try my best to make it up one way or another.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We do not celebrate it lavishly each year but at the very least we do go out for a nice dinner at a nicer restaurant. Up to a few years ago I would even pay attention to what she lacked or liked for months leading up to her birthday and then I would buy them and surprised her during dinner. These were limited to tech gadgets which I am definitely more familiar then her and as a result I have been rather successful during those years.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However once the idea in that department has run its course (how many cameras, laptops and handphones etc can one buy as gifts for their wives right) I reverted back to letting her pick her own presents. I have always said that she is picky when it comes to her purchases. Even today after being married for 10 years I dare not go out and buy something, be it jewelleries, handbags, shoes or clothes, as a surprise birthday present.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She is particular about colours, materials, size, shapes etc. With all these considerations I believe most guys will agree with me that it is perhaps better for her to pick what she likes and I simply foot the bill. Sure it may not be as romantic but something’s gotta give right? The idea of receiving a surprise present may be romantic but in reality I’m afraid it is often overrated and short lived, right up to the point of unwrapping the gift of course.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately and unfortunately at the same time, the price tag does not equate to whether she will like the gift or not. Take diamonds for example, most ladies certainly like them but that doesn’t mean that by splashing out 5 figures on it will guarantee the end result. While the price may cover the basics such as carat, clarity, cut, colour and certificate, the final hurdle of design is often still a gamble. The number of claws on that ring may have a direct effect of whether she leaves her own claw marks on you and also where specifically.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To those of you who are newly wed or have no kids yet, just when you think that selecting your own present is as unromantic as it gets, you will realize that you really haven’t got a clue until you add a couple of kids in the mix.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I am still up for going out for some fine dining her heart is always with the kids. Throw in the fact that we have to trouble my parents to help care for the kids, going out and enjoying ourselves does not seem so nice all of a sudden.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the heavy workload that both of us face, we really cherish whatever remaining time we have with the kids each evening and by the time they sleep we are mentally drained ourselves. Weekends are even more precious for these are the only 2 days each week that we actually get to spend more than a few hours with the children. We will usually go out and buy whatever we need to buy for the children so our own shopping has taken a lesser priority.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Till today the Mrs has not identified her gift yet and plus the fact that tonight is my first day of attending a course we cannot have our dinner out even if we wanted to. So this is the first time we are not celebrating her birthday.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is one saving grace though or at least I would like to think so. I have been sending her flowers on her birthday and our wedding anniversary for the longest time despite her telling me not to and this year is no exception. While completing this post is she has already MMS me the photo of the bouquet.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHt9Pf8-yg_SEg1R2uBgGojjUp8VoICsHs9WYHMPT-qYLrTSVBneysoL9afZ6OgL_wbiThWvzw6eRIc-p_ljA0NRh37WVMdxoDO40trrp2cPwK2sg82hZ4-awNKZuPCdoRRDVozM2UZY/s1600/IMG_0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHt9Pf8-yg_SEg1R2uBgGojjUp8VoICsHs9WYHMPT-qYLrTSVBneysoL9afZ6OgL_wbiThWvzw6eRIc-p_ljA0NRh37WVMdxoDO40trrp2cPwK2sg82hZ4-awNKZuPCdoRRDVozM2UZY/s640/IMG_0265.JPG" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">A bouquet of white lilies!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though we are not celebrating her birthday this year I would like to state for the record that it does not mean that I do not think it is any less important. It is largely down to my own poor time management and planning but I promise I will do a much better job next year.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the kids growing up I imagine that with each year the celebrations can only get more enjoyable and better.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Happy Birthday My Love!<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-26098585655136534062009-11-12T10:01:00.000+08:002009-11-12T10:01:52.380+08:00No<div style="text-align: justify;">Are we made to do things backwards before we learn how to do them right? Take for example, babies will usually learn to crawl backwards before they move on to the leaping stage and finally they are able to crawl forward. The twins are now crawling all over the place and half the time they’re headed in different directions from each other. Then there is the shaking of heads before the nodding. Isaac is a classic example for he will shake his head every time we asked him something but he has since learned to nod his head when in agreement.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now his favourite word is ‘No’. We can ask him anything or give him whatever instructions and he will either shake his head or say no.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Each morning he will knock on our door before letting himself in and we always ask him to hug us and give us a kiss and he will sing out no. I said sing because instead of the firm no his version comes in a rather softer tone, higher pitch and almost to the point of singing.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Below are some of the typical exchanges with him on a daily basis.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Us: Isaac, let’s hold hands there are cars around<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Isaac: No<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Us: Come Isaac, kiss daddy and mummy<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Isaac: No<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Us: Isaac, finish your food first<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Isaac: No<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Us: Isaac, call Mama<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Isaac: No<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Us: Isaac<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Isaac: No<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, the last one was an exaggeration but you get the drift. Most of the time he will shake his head as well just in case his ‘no’ is not taken seriously.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hardest thing to get him to do these days is to eat. For some reason he has decided he prefers to be on liquid diet and as a result he will reject most solid food. He has lost interest in food and will only take a few bites of it before shaking his head at our attempts to feed him more.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes he will hold the food in his mouth for minutes before spitting it out after the flavour has been sucked out. Other times he will stuff his mouth with food such as raisins, chew on them, turn them all mashy and sticky before signaling to you that he wants to spit it out. I quickly learned that when feeding him we really need to have tissues on standby for he is not big on waiting for you to get the tissue in position.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">During his Sunday enrichment class he is always the first off the table and he will bring his own bowl and cup to the tub and proceed to wash his hands. Most would probably think that he is a fast eater but if they only knew he fed me most of the biscuits and raisins.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We tried feeding him everything hoping to find the one thing that will tickle his palate but we have no such luck so far. Whatever we eat he eats too other than the raw sushi and sashimi as well as the medium rare steak. We have tried spicy, sour, sweet, bitter and salty too but with no success.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dr B our PD said that it is just a phase and to encourage him to eat more solids we should consider cutting down on his milk intake. When he is hungry then hopefully he’ll be more receptive towards whatever we feed him.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thankfully he is showing signs of improvement lately. He seems to be more willing to try out new food and actually eat a little more also. Our fingers are crossed for him to grow out of this phase soonest possible.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other thing that he is lagging behind is his speech. He is only saying a few single syllable words and naturally most of them are being used on him on a daily basis. Words such as ‘Wait’, 'Wet' and ‘Go’. This however does not reflect his vocabulary for he understands perfectly what we say and is able to carry out instructions meted out in both English and Cantonese.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We can see that he is already mouthing the words so it is a matter of time before the flood gate opens and then we will look back to the peace and quiet that we have now. The irony in life just continues.<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-27275671345093278922009-10-26T10:39:00.002+08:002009-10-26T15:10:16.059+08:00Ill!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Last week had been very hard on the Mrs. Luke came down with a fever on Monday and only recovered from it on Wednesday. During the first night his temperature reached as high as 39 degrees. Instead of sponging him the Mrs put him in the bathtub and left him soaked in there playing with some toys for 15 minutes. It worked and the temperature never reached that high again. Needless to say we had to wake up regularly to check his temperature throughout the next two nights.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mrs took leave the whole 3 days to take care of him. This was the first time that she had to care for a sick baby all on her own. Our kids had the usual cough and running nose here and there, now and then but never this ‘serious’.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We’re all lucky in that Isaac only really fell ill after he turned 1 and even then he was no where near half as cranky as Luke. He will just have his medication and sleep with the occasional waking up in the middle of the night crying. It was all manageable. As for Hayley she is only having the occasional running nose but that’s about it (knock on wood).<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luke refused to be put down when he was ill this time. He demanded to be carried almost all the time. Even when he was being carried he will be cranky at times too. So in order not to disturb Isaac and Hayley we sent them along with Ani to my parents’ place as usual and the Mrs stayed at home to care for Luke alone. As for me, I had to attend an international conference so I was not able to help out for all 3 days until the evenings when I'm back.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though Luke was sleepy he simply refused to be put down on his bed for naps. The Mrs had to carry him in her arms and let him sleep on her chest. All this while she was not able to get up and do anything. Luckily for her she had her iPhone next to her to she was able to catch up on the news, visit Facebook and serve the internet.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Coincidentally there were a number of Cantonese serial DVDs at home so she was able to catch up with those while Luke lay on her chest sleeping. She even had to skip lunch in order not to wake him up. Between going hungry and having to carry a crying and cranky baby for another few hours, the choice is obvious.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Through this experience the Mrs may have to rethink about being a stay-at-home mum. I honestly believe she now has another level of new found respect for all you SAHM. It is really not easy caring for a sick child. Some of you SAHM even have to take care of your sick child together with a healthy one all by yourself. That to me is a truly remarkable feat. I have not tried it but judging from the exhausted look on the Mrs’s face each evening I don’t think I will be too eager to volunteer my service anytime soon.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know I have been lagging in posting new pictures of the children so here they are. I have also posted more on my Facebook photo album. Enjoy!<br />
</div><br />
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</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-48651870903246155132009-10-16T16:39:00.000+08:002009-10-16T16:39:04.870+08:00Frustration!!!<div style="text-align: justify;">Isaac has just completed his first term of his weekly enrichment class. I am proud to say that within the few weeks of attending he is already mimicking the Zoo-phonics action. He is able to do or at least attempt to do about 98% of the action. The only one he has not really caught on is for Umber Umbrella Bird. He even finishes with the “and we all wake up” action after Zeke Zebra. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We are reciting this with him on a daily basis not because we want him to top the class but because he truly enjoys it. He will always smile when doing the action. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">These days he has even improved further by making the sounds for Catina Cat, Kayo Kangaroo and Pee Wee Penguin. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since he is enjoying himself so much hence we thought of getting the actual Zoo-phonics material so he can try and do the matching watch the CD as well. Now comes the frustrating part. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I’m sure most of you readers know that one cannot get the Zoo-phonics training material unless you enroll your kids with the Zoo-phonics school or Growing Up Gifted. I wasn’t convinced for it does not make sense not to sell a product that you have so I called up and the answer I got was ambiguous. First the lady asked if Isaac is attending any of the 2 schools and when I said no she told me they only sell to those students who are. Then she went on to say that I may have to buy the Deluxe set but she is unable to tell me the difference in these 2 sets and also the price. All she wanted me to do was email her director and wait for him to reply. It was been weeks now and nothing. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mrs knows I do not take such poor service kindly so she volunteered to call and follow up instead. This time it seems they’re more apologetic and said someone will definitely call her after 2 days but it has been a further 2 days and yet still nothing. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This led me to write an email to feedback to the main Zoo-phonics office in the States. Besides expressing my frustration I am also looking if I can buy the material from either their office or anywhere else that is close to Singapore. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFmn-AerGF62PTmAmOH0O55HKmfAHAHwIp5gHW5OHQpiitcQbr8N-vcr8SH_tq3TN-BGwuBb6KsGaMZfyv1sbZcFQa9oCyWH8HsQHbaEfuopg5vgscqq6i7DTdVdfcCs2MlrZND6lgak/s1600-h/Feedback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFmn-AerGF62PTmAmOH0O55HKmfAHAHwIp5gHW5OHQpiitcQbr8N-vcr8SH_tq3TN-BGwuBb6KsGaMZfyv1sbZcFQa9oCyWH8HsQHbaEfuopg5vgscqq6i7DTdVdfcCs2MlrZND6lgak/s640/Feedback.jpg" vr="true" /></a> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are 2 things that I do not agree with here. Firstly, why should a company that developed a good and proven training material limit its use to only students of certain schools? I would think as an Educator they should look at the broader picture. I am not asking them to give it away free or sell it cheaper or even the same price. A better business model would be for us to buy it at a higher price if our kids are not enrolled in their school. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second thing that I have issue with is who on earth runs a business and do not respond to their prospective clients’ emails, enquires and feedback? I am not sure if this Singapore office is a franchise or a distributor for the main one from the States but whichever it is I am definitely not impressed. Perhaps from my email they know that I only wanted to buy the material hence they ignore me. Maybe if I write to the same person but this time expressing my interest in enrolling my 3 kids as well as my niece in their school he might reply within a heart beat. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This whole “not selling to children who are not our students” thing is silly because in case Mr Businessman does not realize I can always borrow the flash cards from friends and family to photocopy and laminate them. I believe I can also burn a copy of the CD for Isaac. I am trying to do the proper thing here by buying original when almost the entire basic set can be duplicated and yet these people are making it so much harder. In all honesty it is really much easier and cheaper to duplicate it on my own. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alternatively I can get my friends who are sending their kids to the “preferred” school to help me buy a set. This way it is perfectly legal and it is very simple to carry out too. Surely they can’t be this anal and refuse to sell a second set to one of their student right? <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am not sure if the email to the head office will yield any result but it is certainly a good way to vent my frustration. I will surely keep you posted on the outcome. In the meantime please buy original. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On a lighter note, below is the video of Isaac mimicking a rhyme that was taught in class. He has only did it twice and at weeks apart but it has left enough an impression. Enjoy! <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dze0UUHSdFQEJhrNQ69I2YhEH_VBw3M_jRjg90yrIX3_MMNdP8nA-FVbyG7mEYBNOqsgnG98vUPO04G1yWyHQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-66350857825473715152009-10-08T13:23:00.005+08:002009-10-08T13:36:00.375+08:0010th!!<div style="text-align: justify;">How time flies and this time I am not referring to my kids growing up. I am actually talking about being married for 10 whole years!!<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">19th Sept 2009 marked the 10th year that the Mrs and I exchanged our vows at The Lawn at Raffles Hotel which by the way is no longer there. That’s one thing that our love has outlasted.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We marked the occasion by shopping and getting drunk in Hong Kong. This trip was not planned for this occasion actually. If we were to plan then surely we would have headed to a country further away to mark this little milestone. This Hong Kong trip was actually postponed twice. It was meant to be a little getaway last year but just before we were to depart we found out that we were pregnant with the twins. Hence we postponed it till a few months later as Dr N was not comfortable with us flying so early into the pregnancy. Not sure if you read or remembered but the Mrs had this major bleeding issue and had to be hospitalized? Well, this happened to be around the time that we were supposed to head to Hong Kong after our initial postponement. I was at a lost then with everything that was going on hence dates were really the last thing on my mind. However I was told by the airline that I have to give them a date there and then in order to activate the postponement so the Mrs just asked me to postpone it to a year later.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were the only ones going initially but in the end my bro, Mike and his wife decided to come along. For them it was a last minute thing too and they had no idea that we will be spending our anniversary there. The Mrs doesn’t like attention hence she insisted that we just spend it like any normal day.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last time I was in Hong Kong must have been at least 2 years ago and I noticed that they have really done well in the language department. With the influx of Chinese tourists they have brushed up their Mandarin really well. Not only do we hear the service staff speak Mandarin in retail shops, we also heard the waiters try in the eateries normally patronized by the locals. Their command of English has also improved by leaps and bounds. This, I believed is all down to practice and a funny encounter at their airport highlights this. This guy, presumably the Manager at the Popeyes Chicken & Biscuit stall insisted on replying to me in English even though I spoke to him in Cantonese. After a few exchanges I gave up and spoke to him in English. Looking back now I should have stuck to Cantonese and it would have made a very interesting conversation for those behind me.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those of you who noticed, yes I caved! After having 3 days of nothing but Chinese food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I really craved for other variety so when we were at the airport having our dinner, the choice was really obvious! We came back at different time and airline so imagine my surprise when I learned that Mike had the same thing too at the airport.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the trip was only for 4 days but it was already rather long for us. The Mrs really dislikes inconveniencing others so to leave our 3 kids with my parents was really uncomfortable for her. Especially when they are all babies and this being the first time, no one knows how they will react. Naturally phone calls were made to check on things on a daily basis (twice a day).<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When we found out that all 3 babies did not sleep well the first night they were at their grandparents place, it sort of ruin the trip for the Mrs. She felt so apologetic towards my parents and Ani for they did not get much sleep at all. Thankfully they got better with the second and third nights.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first night for us was rather interesting for upon touching down we met up with them and headed to Macau, a promise to Mike. We were there from about midnight and did not return to our hotel till about 6 the next morning. We were about S$200 poorer while my bro won around S$1,500.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rest of the time we were just behaving like the commercial for visiting Hong Kong because we were really shopping and eating the entire trip. Every once in a while us guys will normally asked to stop and sit down for a cuppa or some light snacks or desserts.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We went to Lan Kwai Fong for some drinks on our last night. Within the 3 hours we were there my bro and I had the following:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1) 1 x Jello shot<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2) A huge glass of Hoegaarden beer<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3) 1 x Tequila Sunrise cocktail<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4) 1 x Sex on the beach cocktail<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5) 2 x Tequila Sunrise shot<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6) 1 x Sex on the beach shot<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">7) 1 x Kamikazes shot<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">8) 1 x Zombie shot<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">9) 1 x Bourbon Coke<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It had been a very long time since I had this much alcohol and thankfully I did not “merlion” and had no hangover the next morning. We managed to meet up bright and early for breakfast and then continued with our shopping before parting.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From this little experience I learned something interesting. Before departing we were just wondering which kid we will miss most and I thought I will miss Isaac the most since he is the most interactive one now. I am happy to announce that at the end of the trip we miss all 3 kids equal for their various reasons. The Mrs was watching their videos on her iPhone on the way to the airport and on the plane.<br />
<br />
I believe it will be a few more years before we will embark on another trip without the kids. Then again it might be even longer for us to go on holiday with the kids due to the cost involved. Hahahaha<br />
</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-78971682149514452392009-09-14T17:03:00.004+08:002009-09-14T21:29:38.787+08:00Improved!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>It didn’t feel like it was that long ago when the Mrs and I were still wondering which school to send Isaac for his enrichment class. By now Isaac has already finished half the term already.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Sunday marked the fifth week that he was at this class and he has certainly made a lot of progress since. Although he has not really spoken yet but he is certainly enjoying the songs and story telling and his vocabulary has also increased. However I believe the area that he has most improved on is his sociability.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I remembered our Isaac was all teary-eyed when we were there for the first time for the trial class. He was so afraid that he would cling on to either of us tightly and wherever we went he would follow. He would not sit on the mat but instead on our laps. When the teachers tried to engage him he would turn to face us immediately and cry a little.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We went for another couple of trial classes before committing on this current one. When we officially started his first lesson with this school, although a little more experienced with the concept of attending a class for songs and games, he was still a little weary. He still required a little time to get used to the environment before settling down. Luckily for us we noticed that he likes a particular toy amongst all the others that were laid out before each class starts. He has always like wheels. Be it on an actual bicycle or toy cars, he likes to spin them. So happened that there is a toy truck at this school and it acted like a comfort toy for him. He will sit on our laps and spin the wheels while quietly observe the going-ons in the classroom.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I remembered he was always going for the door during the first two lessons. He would try and open it to let himself out of the class. It is with good reason why there is a little device on the door knob that will prevent any child from opening the door. The fact that it is in place probably means Isaac is not the first child that had wanted to escape and skip class. During the first two classes, Isaac will always aim for the door while waiting for the other kids to arrive.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the 3rd class Isaac is participating more already and he smiles at the teachers more often too although he still sat pretty much close to us. He also helped with putting all the toys in the box before each class starts and when the teachers start singing “Toys away. Toys away. Time to put the toys away.”<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the 4th lesson he has decided that he is a big boy now and is probably the Master of the room for he will get up and walk to the middle of the class and smile cheekily at the teachers. When he got restless he will get up and round behind all the kids and parents in circles. Sometimes he will make the center of the mat his official resting place too for he will just lie down there and watch the teachers.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Sunday, his fifth class, he starts to warm up to his classmates for he will voluntarily wave at them when they arrive. In the past he always gets up to head for the exit and we have to run after him to sit him back down. These days we still have to run after him and get him to sit down but for a different reason altogether. I did not want him to be too disruptive in class by standing right in front and blocking the other kids from seeing the story books.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the class ends while he used to be one of the first to head for the door, these days he prefers to stay behind and give his teachers the hugs, the high-fives and the blowing of kisses. He seems to really enjoy himself for he even headed back to the classrooms after I put on his shoes for him.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We are glad that he is enjoying himself so much that even though the classes are held during his usual morning nap time he has never been cranky. Oh, in case you are wondering the arrangement we have is the Mrs and I will take turn (alternate week) to be with him in class. We figured this is the best because it will allow us time to play and bond with him.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCDSUXV4iBbhJXmytl6CFtXmDuTPtWUj5C6U0bP4RtKgSVrgtK0AuAY4pGy5vdCuR8vAVDItBvRKM-vIHrxMJUsQ3cUqmou6Bt8IT3Kk6qWfUYxLLPd6MGZf2-vwmjsbenVWR7PmQptA/s1600-h/Artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCDSUXV4iBbhJXmytl6CFtXmDuTPtWUj5C6U0bP4RtKgSVrgtK0AuAY4pGy5vdCuR8vAVDItBvRKM-vIHrxMJUsQ3cUqmou6Bt8IT3Kk6qWfUYxLLPd6MGZf2-vwmjsbenVWR7PmQptA/s400/Artwork.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Isaac's first master piece. Opening bid at S$1,000.00. Anyone?</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5L2xNZOy5nhZZFwh-rrMNxjKAim08Ga8AaD7HdUzVMvldYVPgKUalMJmkdov9xMgvKoXrl3yCycF-VFGyS-JXMzmh0pre5kUziz3Pc8qx4P5psGqEVGda_W0MfDgJdz37vuA3I_1uzc/s1600-h/IMG_0182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5L2xNZOy5nhZZFwh-rrMNxjKAim08Ga8AaD7HdUzVMvldYVPgKUalMJmkdov9xMgvKoXrl3yCycF-VFGyS-JXMzmh0pre5kUziz3Pc8qx4P5psGqEVGda_W0MfDgJdz37vuA3I_1uzc/s400/IMG_0182.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">This piece of art was painted with real jam. Opening bid at S$500.00.</div><br />
<span style="color: red;">At the time of posting I only have pictures of these 2 pieces of work by Isaac. I'll be posting a couple more once I find the photos so do come back to place your bids.</span></div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-53193744924350851992009-09-02T12:38:00.002+08:002009-09-02T12:42:36.035+08:00Paranoid??<div align="justify">So last Friday was an interesting one for the Mrs and I. Both of us took leave to enjoy a long weekend. She was clearing her leave while her boss was out of town but mainly it was to allow us the time to run a very important errand.<br /><br />The very important errand was to visit Isaac’s nursery again for I am still not convinced that he is suitable to join them in January next year. For those of you that are new to this blog I touched on this months ago when we were deciding on which nursery to send Isaac to comes January (click <a href="http://ahusband.blogspot.com/2009/04/disadvantage.html">here</a> to read). Basically because Isaac is a December baby I feel that he is too young to join nursery when he supposedly turned 3 in January. Then there is also the issue of him going home in a school bus. I cannot imagine my young Isaac at the tender age of 2 having to board the school bus and come home without any known family members with him. Honestly the thought still scares me a little now. I imagine him being helpless and lost as I am typing here.<br /><br />So a call was made to the school in advance to arrange just in case we miss the bus. After speaking to the person-in-charge I began to see myself as a big time paranoid parent. She actually told me that she has never had such a request from a parent before. To go down and observe how the kids finish their classes and how they will be gathered and led to the school bus. I find that hard to believe honestly. Surely I cannot be the only parent on the entire island that is not comfortable with the idea of having his 2 year old go home in the school bus without a parent around right? When told of this the Mrs naturally had a good laugh.<br /><br />Upon arriving on Friday we had a little conversation with the person-in-charge again since the classes were still going on. She tried reassuring me that even if Isaac is a December baby, not potty trained and plus the fact that he is not really speaking yet he is still going to be fine in class. In fact a few of the teachers even commented that Isaac seems a little tall for his age. Although this was not the first time I have heard this remark but I still see Isaac as being about the same height as those his age.<br /><br />Anyway we were told that there will be an orientation come November where the Principal will address all the new parents and we will also get to meet all the teachers. We also learned that one of us is allowed to attend the first 3 days of the class with Isaac. I guess this is to help introduce him to the new environment. Guess it will be a little like the enrichment class that we are attending with Isaac each Sunday. I will touch on that in my next post.<br /><br />Not long after the kids were all dismissed from class and based on my observation I have to say they are very organized but I couldn’t help but to wonder if any child had gone “missing” before because they are all about the same size and all of them in the same uniform. These kids were led by their teachers from the classrooms holding hands all the way to the area where the parents waited patiently. No child was running around on his / her own. They were all walking along hands in hands. Naturally the Kindergarden kids were a lot noisier for they have a lot to say to their classmates before they next meet on Monday.<br /><br />For those that were going home by the school buses, they were led to a room where there will be 6 queues for the 6 different buses. The teachers will accompany them there until the number is right and both the bus driver and his assistant are there to collect them. What happen next is there will be a rope with rubber rings in the middle and these kids are to hold onto the rubber rings and led out with the bus driver in front and the assistant at the other end. They will then be led down the stairs to the bus bay at the carpark where they will be helped up the bus. The assistant will make sure that they will put on their seat belts before moving off.<br /><br />While everything seems to be in order and well organized I have to say the parent in me is still a little worried. I actually have this plan to secretly hide and observe how Isaac will fair being led by complete strangers to the bus on the fourth day of school. I’m sure he will cry his eyes out on the first day he has to go home on his own and I know for a fact I will be there waiting to receive him when the school bus pulls up at my dad’s place.<br /><br />Having said the above I must admit that when we asked the teachers to point out the nursery 1 babies to us, all of them looked confident and independent. It seems a few of them are only 2 weeks new in the school environment. I guess it will not be as bad as I had imagine but one thing’s for sure and that is January will be more unnerving for me than Isaac I’m sure.</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-23908886866675850782009-08-19T16:21:00.006+08:002009-08-20T11:13:30.248+08:00Punishment<div align="justify">It might be a little too early to discuss punishment now since Isaac is only coming to 20 months old. Hence this is not really about him. What brought about this topic was an episode that we witnessed during one of our dinners at Vivo City.<br /><br />Those of you who read this blog will probably know that due to the space Vivo is probably one of our favourite haunt these days. We usually like to go to the Asian Kitchen at the basement for dinner and we always reserve the table just outside the restaurant so that we have more space for the high chair and prams.<br /><br />Anyway it was during one of our usual dinners there that this happened. Just when we were about done a family of 4 came and sat behind us. It was a pair of parents, a grandmother and a young girl that cannot be more than 6 or 7 years old.<br /><br />When we got up to leave both Ani and I witnessed the mother pinning the girl's hand down on the table while hammering it with a tumbler. The mother hit her for about 5 or 6 times and all the while the girl was wailing. I could see that her hand was all red from the torture. I believe if the mum were to be the one at the receiving end she too will be crying let alone her poor child. Frankly I do not know what the little girl did to deserve such severe punishment but then again I do not think any child would have done anything to deserve such treatment. It was so bad that although the Mrs heard the commotion she dared not turn around to look.<br /><br />Maybe some of you will feel that it is probably easy for me to blog here and criticise them but even though I am close to losing my patience with my 3 kids sometimes, I know for a fact that I will not resort to such punishment. I believe for a parent to mete out such punishment the problem will mostly lie with the adult rather than the child. Perhaps the adult need to learn some anger management.<br /><br />Having said that I am actually the type that believe in "spare the rod and spoil the child" philosophy but this does not mean that I will bring a cane along wherever we go. By the way we have actually seen parents bringing canes out with them in shopping malls before. I do not believe the Western way of only grounding the child and not spanking them at all will work although I have not decided on how I’ll discipline my kids yet.<br /><br />Another incident we saw was just as dramatic if not more. We were driving along Commonwealth Ave West when we saw a car stopped outside one of the main gates outside the Singapore Polytechnic. Next thing we saw was the driver, presumably the father, came out and open the rear passenger door and took out a bag, some books and other stuffs and started hurling them over the gate. There was a little girl crying and trying to stop him. Getting very concerned the Mrs asked me to go around and swing by again and if things looked to be out of hand she was all ready to call the police. When we came back there was another car stopped behind the original one and a man was seen trying to calm the driver down while the mum and the girl tried to retrieve the bag and stuffs. This man definitely needs help and I hope for his family's sake he is seeking treatment.<br /><br />I heard on radio once that the Flying Dutchman does not believe in the good cop bad cop routine because both parents should be able to dish out the punishment there and then when the child misbehaved instead of having to wait till the disciplinarian comes back from work. By then the impact would not have been the same. I tend to agree with that. However at this point in time I do not think I am capable of punishing Isaac for all his naughty little habits. I can't help but smile back whenever he flashes his cheeky look. The Mrs is much better in this department. She will definitely have to be the bad cop for now.<br /><br />I keep hearing about the Terrible Twos and Isaac is months away from turning two so maybe I should start getting help on the kind of punishment that a 2 year old can comprehend. These days if Isaac does not get his way he will cry and lie on the floor but thankfully he has not done so in public. Super Nanny will recommend me to identify a corner in the house as a punishment corner where the child cannot move out of for a give period of time but I honestly don't think Isaac will understand that yet.<br /><br />So all you experienced parents, how do you punish your 2 year old and ensure that they understand what they are punished for at the same time?</div>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-52631535510343210542009-08-06T21:26:00.020+08:002009-08-06T22:10:30.936+08:00Late!<div align="justify">In case some of you get creative and ahead of yourselves, NO this is not what you think. It is not about that kind of “late” and we are expecting again! God, no!<br /><br />I guess it is due to the way we announced our pregnancies to our close friends, always over group dinner, these days whenever we meet up for dinner and when I told them I have something to say, they will usually go “Pregnant again hah?!” The best part is they say it with such enthusiasm the people next table could have easily mistaken it as our first. Each time we will have to tell them a big ‘NO!’ and reaffirm that we are not trying already but I guess hearing it is not good enough. So here it is guys, in writing.<br /><br />“We wanted 3 and we have 3 so we’re <strong>DONE!!</strong> The factory is closed!!”<br /><br />Anyway back to my original post.<br /><br />This is something that I wanted to blog about since before we even have the twins which makes the title even more apt.<br /><br />I actually took pride that I was almost never late for anything besides work but that is a complete different thing altogether. As a matter of fact I used to be early on most occasions because I really dislike having to wait for people who practice rubber time. This was until I attended a sales seminar and the trainer said that being early is also a form of poor time management as we should be on time and not waste precious minutes waiting. Since then I always try to be on time, not too early and never late.<br /><br />This all changed after we had Isaac. I am not sure if this only applies to us or maybe some of you parents share the same sentiment. Somehow after we have a child we are always late for all gatherings.<br /><br />It is not like we have gotten lazier or fatter or simply cannot be bothered. We actually plan and time and make it a point to leave by a certain time so that we will not be late but sadly we fail each time.<br /><br />When there was only Isaac we had to pack his bag and fill it with diapers, change of clothes, milk, water (both normal and hot), biscuits, toys, tissue, wet wipes and God knows what. Even when we had the bags packed the night before we still find ourselves rushing to clean and change him before dashing out the door to the car hoping that I can make up lost time with my driving.<br /><br />Now that we have 3 kids, you can only imagine the kind of mad rush that we have to go through each time. We have told so many people that going out these days is a really big project. Whatever we had to pack for Isaac, we have to triple it now. Most of the time we have to go out with 2 bags of the kids stuffs. I have to clarify that the Mrs and Ani will usually organize things way before but it is still hard to leave at the designated time due to the children sleeping. As much as possible we try not to wake them up so most of the time we waited impatiently.<br /><br />The moment they’re up, it’s different roles for each of us. We will have to take turn to change ourselves as well as change all the babies. Whoever is ready will have to carry the babies and make last minute check before we dash out of the door. On the way to the venue we will be busy texting our friends to apologise.<br /><br />With 3 babies sleeping at different time of the day it is quite challenging to even go out at all. Having said that, we still managed to go out for a total of about 6 hours with all 3 babies in tow. This happened after one of Isaac’s trial enrichment class on a particular weekend. By the time we got home both adults and babies are exhausted.<br /><br />I will blog about the trial classes that we have attended after Isaac has started his actual enrichment class. In the meantime below are some of the most recent pictures of our babies!</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366843802887989058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0D4B9xDyLYTgrANg0EHwqBHtA-LgsbWXZXiCasBNyCI10KgEMx86doGpzWbBlDon6o7-stxGkLVQrA1GUrt-zwxSiyq0FmDDAeaCG95I_IqveVg-7S66yUKF_hImZAE1lGLPPi3EYj6k/s400/DSC_0047.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">The big boy that Isaac is now!<br /></p><div align="justify"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366844431686426546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bSWNqulUOZyfiTDvqDCA1u_BlXJa7LMuQP-cbldxJlJgMRqSp_WGKWjUaAOcSFlmhYQ9iGMEmyMLFM6ffC5FToc5MXXVHC1pD8HqVK0obpb9mqfVxIv5JJXpxTeoSOO0cZK5SM5xang/s400/DSC_0054.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Although big boy now but he still has his infamous cheeky smile!!<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366845235903144482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3o86flhyphenhyphen9zG-5d9Mbwo87rbV0IOT8K7cJhhc1K5583anhRs5NafVg2MHKpLPoMjNbKbwDU2g1JObski2AnK0TqeJdtuRDKaTq_afcLZf0x1gYFQT2uKhSvrgehDaMC3Dlr8Nu-9rxCmM/s400/DSC_0056.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Doesn't Luke look like Isaac?<br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366845999133358498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHfgpZl09LzL6ngoJtMzvy78LLq7_hevxoYkMYWTmLfvvUOXv0pHwvaE_H7Y85i9qmgtlvZkeJsXpJlcGXtpyZNee1_K198tTJgxuBshGMWmrGzWRLSXYblS1BhAOubDKwUUMjGHYt1M/s400/DSC_0037.JPG" border="0" /></p><p align="center">The 3 little pigs! Actually more like a pig and 2 oxes!</p><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366847753912800338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3ix3yixqaH0CyPl7MtJAKhqW06Oj_46aRl_ApEPvfqmwc-1Ok68kizR3Mi1qPcZ-YMdzgvWt4XNotBmB470EhPxWihEXYyouCiSunB8Y4SepSrxcBO6QRMiGaahYK4E8N1JmtSpz810/s400/DSC_0120.JPG" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Notice how happy Isaac is with his siblings?</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366846902276551250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_qiSXG68GxA6w5aBWV8DEu5x1mZywt00Pxs0A2kivL3Sd9k3Sw9-UHBSeikuyFnNUE3hgefOm9pj9VH2O43hk-iz-OqldxbypJk7UIEK2n8VyxHMSeZwlghGZ_IO3eCL4B7cLy82fcQ/s400/DSC_0086.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">The helpers that truly adore them!<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366848641608156018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZO9LztPlh3uTMJ8xxiQboGtsQsV8c8QtJ6fKw6QuXKt4WiOPt4TxmlIIsLpPGqh5CKGXHP37tfquDWDRxlI-Nho51jKkOyvT_JzCq44exGjiMh4OcrOYZMskCvVwmNhylXLRn6ZBc8k4/s400/DSC_0129.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">The Mrs and our babies!!!</p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366850769157064450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnIGn584tyXGus2C6L0PErvDeamWJKqe-ynJqC6asRW84KoiFqEl7v-Ttbm-9ZZeGs3XstT6S2oWlQMnt3AqldI52sDZgqViiPobHGEO11ZSmFCPWvfXn7gIu7Mt9kgmcRupGRHXx0qs/s400/DSC_0056_(2).JPG" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">Our first ever family portrait!</p>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317442443051407768.post-14651191376251737292009-07-21T17:30:00.009+08:002009-07-22T10:56:07.197+08:00Enrichment<div align="justify">I have always viewed ourselves as pretty relaxed parents except for a couple of things. Some will probably view us as lazy but ultimately I would like them to enjoy their childhood hence I am not too big on all the enrichment classes and flash cards etc. Honestly I prefer for them to learn at their own pace instead of us forcing it down their throats. They can only have one childhood so I would like to make it a nice one for them.<br /><br />I was having lunch with my sis yesterday and she was asking me about the pictures of Isaac in my previous post. “What was he doing with the mop?” she asked. So I went on to describe to her how he is now mimicking us when we go about our business at home. Mopping the floor and putting the laundry in the washing machine are just two examples that I managed to capture with my iPhone. Off hand I can recall another incident where he actually took a piece of the tissue and climb on the sofa which is against a glass wall and started wiping the glass. According to my sis we are training him under the Montessori Method without realizing it.<br /><br />It seems the Montessori Method basically involves showing him repeatedly how things are done while he observes and then he will repeat the action later on his own. This is followed by us praising and encouraging him. He is now at the age whereby he is very observant towards the things that we do. Take another example, he is always watching very closely whenever I put him in his car seat or any high chair and buckle him down. Although I believe he has an ulterior motive for he is trying to figure out how it is done so he can free himself.<br /><br />After taking those pictures and video I was discussing with the Mrs that instead of him throwing his toys and make a racket at home, we should look into playing with him using house chores. Things that will still be interesting to him and he can work on his motor skill and creativity at the same time.<br /><br />I have always been a skeptic of all the classes that will turn your child into a genius with exceptional memory or a linguist or the next Mozart. I believe there is about 1 out of hundreds if not thousands that will achieve such results and I think that kid is already born gifted to begin with. These schools will naturally profile on those kids that are good and deemed a success but I always wonder if anyone asks the parents of the tens or hundreds of kids that attended the same training method but yield no amazing result. Surely we must know somebody who knows somebody that sent their kids to the Glenn Doman and the Shichida classes. Maybe you can enlighten me. Do they all achieve such fantastic result? In the event that the kids turn out normal and not exceptional, what then is their excuse? That we parents are not working hard enough on them? That we are not consistent or dedicated enough? Or maybe these kids just need that couple more semesters with them.<br /><br />But please don’t get me wrong for I am not against sending the young to enrichment classes. At the end of the day such classes are there to help make them better. The Mrs and I are currently looking at sending Isaac for “fun and educational” classes too (any suggestions by the way?) but our intention is not to turn him into a genius. All I want is for him to have an hour or two of fun where he can learn to socialize and learn to do something things with his hands (maybe even feet) and imagination. What we are NOT trying to achieve is to make him that much smarter than the kid next to him so that he will finish higher in class. Whatever class we decide to attend is also to provide us with a chance to bond and do things together with Isaac.<br /><br />Part of our reason for sending Isaac for such once a week class is also to prepare him for the nursery comes January. We are hoping that being in such a “classroom” environment will soften the culture shock that he will surely experience when he has to attend the nursery. Some of you might remember that I had to struggle with the idea of sending him to nursery next year. To me he is still very much a baby so surely classes and schools can wait. However the Mrs convinced me that he is not attending a class per se. Instead I should think of it as sending him to play and socialize with other kids his age rather than having stay cooped up at home and not learning much. Anyway it is only for 2 hours a day so I can live with that.</div><div align="justify"><br />Anyway I was so excited after speaking to my sis about the Montessori Method that I went over to Borders and Books Kinokuniya after work that very same day to see if I could pick up a book or two on it. Most of them are rather dry and describes the science behind the method but I am glad I managed to find one that sounds interesting and direct enough.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360843868461737442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2W4q3F7HIG_nNRd_Nz7ammbTN8KI4D93pomt8GacrBFYBGg21KI-FVVrrEpVjpWq0aqZ2d8tVOIVi9ZY6ZtVfL5_TaqepUbdfAaxQviY3dIfk4BRMaTeHkI3H0qPcIMuReasxJuWusRk/s400/51P9981DD6L__SS500_.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="justify">I am not a speed reader and plus the fact that I am so busy with so many things you will have to be patient if you want my book review and update on Isaac's progress.</p>A Husband's Voicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482588749483617734noreply@blogger.com35