This is the way to eat

Before



After

 This is how my almost-two-year-old wallops her drumstick... :)

Kids' Gym

I wasn't too sure if my kids would like it so since there was a free trial class available, I signed them both up. OK, abit wasted cos AIR1's class is later, so I put both in the same class, i.e. meant for up to 3 y/o. So AIR1 technically abit older, and as discovered, the oldest in the class, by 2 months :D



Not feeling so adventurous...try the slide first

As soon as we got in, AIR1 sat for a while and then asked to go home. While I spoke to the lady who manages the place, AIR2 was too excited to wait. She kept pestering me to go in with her. And so I went in, but AIR1 didn't want to enter. It wass indeed unexpected. OK, maybe lasted for like 10 seconds and AIR1 followed us in. :)

On the rolly-polly thingy

There were only 5 kids, including these 2. And AIR2 was the only lil' girl. She was a typical girl. timid and taking things slowly. AIR1 was already running around, sweating...and I was impressed with his balancing skills on the balance beam.

Overall, FlyKidz was great. But now I dunno what to do - sign both up in the same class or 2 different classes? hmmmm ponder ponder...this is supposed to occupy those daddy-less weekends until June...so we shall see how...AIR1 was independent enough and didn't mind the instructors' help. He loved the trampoline and all other stunt-like stuff :D

Almost dead

It amazing that some people just takes things forgranted. As though its the most natural thing to do. Here you are sacrificing so many things, even almost at the brink of death, but u still get selfish remarks of things you should be doing instead.

Maybe I should just drop dead before the seriousness of it all is understood??

And because of this, I keep having flashbacks into the past. And having those what-ifs moments. It can be so negative and demoralizing.

Thank God at least AIR1 could at least say 'Please listen to mummy, if not mummy go hospital'. At least he was somewhat concerned. Worried he wouldn't get to go to the playground, perhaps. hehe

Here we go! go! go!

Whenever I feel like saying 'here we go', a mental image of 'The Cat in the Hat' by Dr. Seuss comes to mind. The show on Disney Jr. has a catchy tune which rings to 'Here we go go go...on an adventure!'...

So here we go!

It all happened so fast and unexpectedly I am baffled. I was just thinking about it while driving today. I was applying for change of jobs. I wanted to leave this $***hole. It was getting from bad to worse. But I had to consider many things. Hub and I travel in our course of work. So we take turns to babysit when it happens. That means we can't be working too far from where the kids are, to make it convenient for us. So I didn't have much hope as there were many criterias to fulfill.

And one day, a call came. And from that fateful day onwards, 2 weeks later, I tendered my resignation!! Yahoo!!

And upon tendering my resignation, I also found out that the back-stabbing which I suspected was happenning, actually happened, and even to larger scale than I imagined. It was absurd. And the boss who was trying to get me to stay (because the ISO audit is round the corner and I'd be gone by then -whocares!), had done alot of assumption in what he would want me to do in the future, plans which I saw coming, but I disliked.

Thank God that I am leaving.

I guess it is only because I am better than that back-stabbing idiot, that is why he feels so threatened...so much so that he is going all out to bring me down. Be little me, make me look foolish...do what you like for the remaining 3 weeks I have. I don't care! Go find your new victim, idiot! There are not many choices left.

And to the boss who must have drank a ton of this idiot's saliva (chinese saying is that you drink the person's saliva and you'll listen to that person), open up your eyes. He's got you wound on his little finger like a yo-yo. And you are more than 10 years more senior than him, I am sure you are much wiser than to just listen to ONE idiot to get news from the whole department.

You both can go rule the shrinking organization.

Cat in the Hat cartoon picture courtesy of Google.

Weaning toddler from pacifier

AIR1 stayed off the pacifier until he was about 6 months old. Until the babysitter used one on him :( I was saddened, but I guess he was one crier until the caregiver couldn't take it. For the well-being of my son, I decided not to make a fuss out of it and go with the flow. And she told me she used it because he was crying non-stop at one point.

AIR2 started the pacifier when she was 2 weeks plus 'young'. Yeah, she was one child who was hard to pacify, even suckling didn't help to put ther to sleep. And she will cry non-stop for no reason. So I resorted to the pacifier.

And how did I wean them off?

AIR1 wasn't 'weaned off' so to speak...he was taken of the pacifier cold-turkey by daddy. Yeah...just one day, he refused to give him the pacifier the whole night and that was it. He stayed off it forever. He was 2.5 years old then. At that time, sometimes when he sees AIR2's pacifier, he will want to try to take it...out of desperation :)

AIR2 was weaned off slowly. She just had to have it during night sleeps but daytime naps she could do with out it. So after about 1 week plus, she totally stopped. Until we were travelling back to hometown where she seldom goes, so she wanted it again. 'comforting'.... and now she is off it permanently. But if she sees it, she will at times want it. Sometimes only. She's 22 months when she stopped...

It's weird how one kid stops cold-turkey while the other has to be weaned off slowly. Maybe also the age difference....and now it's time for potty training ;p

To go or not to go?

When I joined this company, I envisioned that I will stay here very long. Yes, as long as ermmmm ok long lah... I've not stayed longer than 2 years in one place. Opps for some reason or other, there were temptations out there which drove me to change. And twice, the company just went bust! Can you imagine??

So when I joined this, I hoped I could grow old here. hahahaha strange, but yes, I was tired of changing. Plus I had friends here when I joined. Now, friend and friends made along the way are also gone. Things have gone from good to bad. At one point, prospects were great and I thought I'd be reaching my 3rd year here and set a record!!

But....

that may not just happen.

It's not easy to change jobs when you've got school-going kids, or kids in the nursery and home is quite far from the workplace and am on a 'sdn.bhd.' basis, i.e. I don't have outside help when it comes to taking care of the kids and mending the house. All done by hub & I only.

I was reluctant to look for jobs although things are not as rosy here anymore. I perservered. But now, the job came looking for me. Location - not toobad, though I may be driving alot more to send/fetch kids if hub is  not around. Pay - just a slight increase, which essentially makes no difference if I take into consideration parking and all those extra driving. So why move?

New environment and perhaps I NEED THAT change badly!! It sucks when things are what it is like here. And IF I don't take this, I dunno when will I be able to make the change again. there are not many places with these type of work. If I look for a complete change, many may not be able to give me what I want.

Well....so let's just face it, take it or leave it and regret it next 2 months down the road when things turn sour, correct? So I think I shall scram as fast as I can!!

TATA!! :D

Roaches, be-gone!

At one point many months ago, my car was infested with cockroaches. The small-kind. It started with one or two and slowly they built their own home....and from one home it became many, a housing estate and from there it became a district. :D and at one point, there were sooooo many that during one short journey, you could see them going sight-seeing around there car.

YES!! IT WAS THAT BAD!

And I would have AIR1 telling me 'Mummy there!!' back then he would refuse to point it out to me, so i would have to see where he is looking at. Then 'BAM!' and gone! :D

Then I decided to try this 'bait' again, because it worked once before. Placed one beneath the driver's seat and the next day, the 'bait' was totally gone! So I put another, and it disapeared too!! My oh my and of course within afew days, there were no 'special appearances' during our car rides anymore.

Yippeeee!! for now, at least.

Cos AIR2 has the tendency to still drop crumbs unintentionally and intentionally. And sometimes purposely push those crumbs into can't-be-reached places. Oh well...soon, this bait will make its appearance again!

And to those wanting to try this....IT IS efeective!!