Isaac the biker dude

That's Isaac, our biker dude :p You know how they say that the kids model after us parents? Well, I think we deliberately as well as unconsciously push the kids in the same directions as we do. It's only logical really. It happens unconsciously when we exhibit preferences and the kids pick up on that. We deliberately do it when we expose the kids to things and activities that we like. And cycling is one of these activities.

Isaac @ 3 and a half years old - when he first got his balance bike. January 2011.

I'd always loved to cycle, from when I was a kid. I would meet up with my primary school friend Shuwen, who stayed in the same block as me, and we would often cycle to our central where we went straight for the 7-eleven there to get our weekly fix of Mr Softee ice-cream. When I was older, I asked for a mountain bike as my birthday present and started to cycle around on it. I remember how during the school holidays when I was secondary school, how I cycled all the way from Upper Bukit Timah to Tanglin Road on a mountain bike, with a friend on my back seat! And the other time during my junior college days when me and friends would cycle all the way to Geylang just to have supper (beef horfun and beancurd!!!).

Hubbs is very much into cycling these days. He has a road bike which we bought in Austin, Texas, USA - read about that here! He really started heavy duty cycling when he couldn't run long distance anymore coz his meniscus is torn. His dream is for all of us to cycle as a family, to go places together. I would love for that to happen too! I can't wait to be able to cycle long distance with the kids so that I can use it as a form of exercise. Exercise that wouldn't take me away from the kids coz we'd all be in it together.

So when we found this balance bike, we were ecstatic. It was supposed to be the most natural way for a young child to learn how to ride a bicycle - you learn to balance first. So this bicycle doesn't have any pedals. You just sit on the seat, and use your feet to propel yourself forward. And at any point in time, if you feel like you're about to fall, your legs instinctively come down. Easy peasy! Look at this video above, taken in February 2011, barely weeks after Isaac got his balance bike.

In fact, Isaac got so confident on his balance bike, that we didn't have any qualms about bringing him to Pulau Ubin to cycle with his balance bike. It was a Sunday in March 2011 when we decided to go Pulau Ubin on an adventure. Alright, I confess, hubbs had to work - he had to go look in on his NCDCC cadets who were having a camp at the NPCC camp on Pulau Ubin. So we decided to all go, instead of hubbs sacrificing his time away from us and going on his own. Upped and go, we did!

We rented two bikes. A single mountain bike with a childseat for Asher in front of me. And a double bike for hubbs to ride in front, and our helper Lina, coz we found out that day that she didn't know how to cycle. Shawna was on a childseat at the back of the double bike. I tried riding the double bike, but I couldn't control it due to the weight. And our star for the day, Isaac, was on his balance bike. And with his balance bike, Isaac rode in Pulau Ubin! :) If the slopes were too steep, we got down to push. But Isaac handled the bike very well, and we taught him how to control his speed by using his shoes as brakes. Very well done, Isaac! :)

Isaac @ 3 years 7 months | Asher & Shawna @ 14 months | March 2011

Fast forward a year, and we have here below in March 2012, Isaac on his balance bike and Shawna on her push car. Isaac is very proficient on his balance bike and has started to experiment with many twists and turns. Some people make the comment that it looks like a very tiring bicycle to cycle because there are no pedals. But I don't think it is so. In fact, it looks like it's so much fun! We've had some adults who stopped us and asked whether they have such bicycles made for adults! I wish they did, I would like to get one, just for fun! But seriously, it'd be a great training tool to teach adults how to cycle too - for those that still don't know how to, that is!

Isaac @ 4 years 7 months | Shawna @ 2 years 3 months | March 2012

Catch Isaac in action in early January 2012 on his balance bike! Can't wait for the twins to start cycling the balance bike! We lowered the height of the seat to the lowest it'd go, but the twins weren't tall enough for it yet. So our balance bike is currently on loan to Regina! Can't wait to see her in action on the bike! :)



Then on day in early May, my ex-colleague Cindy whatsapped me to ask if we wanted her son Jayden's old bike as the 9 year old boy had outgrown it. I thought it'd be perfect for Isaac as I felt that he was ready to transit to a bicycle with pedals. He was already on the second highest position that we could increase the height of his balance bike to, so technically, he could probably stay on it for a good 6 more months or more. But I was keen to start the twins on the balance bike really; so Cindy's offer came at a good time. We picked it up, pumped up the tires, and Isaac had a go at it the very next day. And just as we expected - he did it! He could ride the bike with the pedals, two-wheels - without the silly balance wheels that stick out at the sides. yay!!!

Look at Isaac go!!! The video below was taken after Isaac started cycling his pedal bike for about 10 minutes :) He'd gotten the hang of the bike very quickly. Good job, Isaac!!!

We're so very very pleased, because this means we're one step closer to being able to cycle out together! In fact, we can, because, we just have to place the twins on a childseat each on a bike hubbs and I cycle - the places we'd go!!! kekeke... stay tuned for more of our adventures in cycling!!!

Our 7th wedding anniversary!

23rd May is our wedding anniversary! :) Seven years since 2005! My, how time flies! It seems like it wasn't too long ago that we got married, and yet it also seems like we've been married and been parents for a long time. An oxymoron, I know, but I think it feels like a "long time" because we're both very comfortable being together and having kids, being parents and all. Yet, seven years seemed to have passed in a blink of an eye!

Our angels in disguise: Isaac, Asher & Shawna - August 2011

Now, every year for the past few years, I'd try to do a special wedding anniversary blog post. Last year,  we shared with you the powerpoint slideshow that we put together for our wedding. It had the usual photos of us when we were kids, and also the story of how we got together and how hubbs proposed to me. The year before that, we did a photo-story recap  of our wedding day actual day proceedings.

This year, we've put together a video!!! The English lyrics (below) are written by yours truly hahaha...



Lyrics by Pamela Tan

When the sun sets in the morning it will rise again.
When the flowers wilt but next year they bloom once more.
Pretty little birdies fly and fade away
My youth is like the flying birds - it won't come back.
My youth is like the flying birds - it won't come back.

I'm getting so old, I'm getting so old.
My youth is like the flying birds - it won't come back.

Go camping and rock-climbing? Now I have no more time.
I can't even run because my meniscus' gone.
My six-pecs and biceps have wasted away.
My hairline is receding, look I have no more fringe.
My hairline is receding, look I have no more fringe.
I'm getting so old, I'm getting so old.
My hairline is receding, look I have no more fringe.

When I wake up in the morning, and my bones ache.
When I eat a little bit, I put on some weight.
My pretty slim figure has long since gone.
My youth is like my slim figure, it won't come back.
My youth is like my slim figure, it won't come back.
I'm getting so old, I'm getting so old.
My youth is like my slim figure, it won't come back.

But now... 7 years later...

We wake up in the morning with our 3 lovely kids!
We get to play all day with them, they are so much fun.
Our hearts are brimming full of love for them.
Our youth is gone but we have 3 kids, we are so blessed!
Our youth is gone but we have 3 kids, we are so blessed!
So what if we're old?! So what if we're old?!
Our youth is gone but we have 3 kids, we are so blessed!

*grinz* hehehhee...

My colleagues say that I should send this video to MCYS and we should be the ambassadors to encourage people to have more children :p But I must state this for the record that we have kids because we love kids and not because of some government campaign or men in white (or blue or whatever colour!) tells us to.That said, if anyone wants to help us do a proper video of us singing that and/or putting us on tv - we certainly don't mind! *grinz*

Apologies for my horrible singing though! I was trying hard not to laugh and remember the lyrics! But, next to hubbs, my singing is just not as good as his, and that's the truth of it all :) Hope you got a few laughs outta that! hahaha Leave us comments, we love getting comments! :)

A Mumthesaurus speaks colourful language!

Isaac @ 4 years 6 months | February 2012

Ever since Isaac was born, I have been very conscious and aware of how I speak in front of him. I was very aware of what I said, how I phrased what I wanted to say etc. I did this because I wanted him to learn "proper English". Over the years, my Singlish has slipped in somewhat and being in school, it was inevitable that Isaac learnt some Singlish along the way. I wouldn't have it any other way though, Singlish is part of us Singaporeans, afterall.

Mindfully trying to teach him good English, one thing I often do while speaking with Isaac, is that I would try to use synonyms of words when I talk, so as to widen his vocabulary. I knew this worked very well, when one day, we had the following conversation:

Me:" ... wow! This is VERY BIG!" (I can't recall what object we were talking about already.)
Isaac:"Is it huge?"
Me:"Yes it is! Huge means "very big" - so you're right! It IS huge!!!"
Isaac:"Is it enormous?"
Me:"Yes, yes, it's enormous! Enormous has the same meaning as huge too! Very good Isaac! Some more?"
Isaac:"I know! It's HUMONGOUS!"
Me:"Yes it is!!! That's fantastic!!! Another one??? Gi -???"
Isaac:"Gi??? Oh! GIANT!!!"
Me:" Hahaha... yes "giant" works too. But actually I was thinking of "gigantic" - but very good! "Giant" also means "very big". Excellent, darling!!!"

The above conversation happened a few months back. I kept wanting to blog about it, but didn't get the chance to do so. Just about a week or so ago, we were in the car, and Isaac did something which... wasn't nice. I can't recall what it was. Nothing too serious. And when it's not too serious, I tend not to want to use words which are too... heavy (for want of a better word). So I said...

Me:"Isaac, that's not nice. Please don't do that."
Isaac:"Mummy! Can you stop saying that?!"
Me:"Stop saying what?"
Isaac:""Not nice!" Stop saying "It's not nice. It's not nice" That's so BORING!"
Me:"Huh? So what do you want me to say? You mean you want me to use other words?"
Isaac:"Yes!!! You keep saying "Not nice" so boring!!!"
Me:"Oh... so, shall I say... "That's... not pleasant."? "
Isaac nods vigorously with a smile on his face.
Me:"... not appropriate? not appealing? not polite? That's horrible! Distasteful! Horrendous!!!"
Isaac:"Yes, yes, Mummy! Very good! Well done, Mummy!!!"

I need my devour my thesaurus, seeing as how I need to be a walking thesaurus!!! Eh! I'm a dinosaur! I'm a Mumthesaurus!!! Are you one too? :)

Writing the Unspeakable

When Evelyn first approached me to guest blog on her The Bottoms Up Blog, I was honoured. Then, I realised what she was asking me to blog on. She remembered me mentioning on a private facebook group we're both on, that "my #1 fear was that hubbs would cheat on me, even though he's totally not the type" to do so. She wanted me to write about why I have that worry, to Write the Unspeakable!

This got me thinking. For even though I had that fear, I never actually really thought about it. It was something that I didn't want to really talk about, and not even think about, as I strongly feel and believe that one should not dwell on unhappy thoughts. Also, part of this stems from the irrational superstitious fear that if you talk about it, it might happen. That's ridiculous, of course. But that's what superstitions are: irrational and ridiculous.

Why is this my #1 fear? Well, most wives would have this fear, isn't it? No matter how loving the hubby is, how secure the relationship is, there is still this fear, deep down inside us, that "What if?" feeling of  insecurity nestled deep in us... that, what if one day, hubbs sees a nice pretty slim lady (not like fat 'ol blubbery me) and falls for her and decides to leave me and the kids for her?! What will I do?! My children will grow up without a father!? And I will grow old without the father of my kids to share the joy and tribulations of the kids with?! The feeling of being betrayed, of being abandoned... is horrible. It dredges up memories of breakups in the past, though thankfully, my breakups with previous boyfriends were all mutual and not due to a third party's interference. But still, it hurts.

Hubbs is a great guy. He's got a very good heart. He is kind, and has good morals and an all round good man. This was the main reason I got together with him. Back in the day when he chased me and asked me to be his girlfriend, I was pretty and slim and 7 years younger than him. He was balding (still is ;p), a heavy drinker and a heavy smoker (at that point in time. Now he isn't ;p) and he was 7 years older than me. I had a close friend who felt he was "unworthy" of me. But I could see how he had a very good heart. How kind he was, how he had a good character and how good he was with kids, how he genuinely loved kids. I knew that he was one who would be a fantastic father, and that he would take care of me, and that he was one that  I would enjoy growing old with. So I accepted him.

And I was right. 23rd of this month this year marks a full 7 years we've been married, and more than 9 years together as a couple. He is nothing short of being a wonderful husband, a fantabulous father to my three children, and the son my parents never had. My initial assessment of him was correct and I feel blessed that I had decided to take a chance with this man when I agreed to be his girlfriend more than 9 years ago.

But because of his kind nature, of how he feels for the downtrodden and helpless... I fear the day that someone would present themselves (say the woman and her kids?!) to him that they need him to take care of them. And then he will look at me and see this independent woman who is capable of taking care of her own kids, and LEAVE US! Because he knows we can take care of ourselves! And he goes and take care of these, these, these OTHER PEOPLE! This is my #1 Fear. And it strikes fear in my heart just thinking about it.

Does this have an effect on how I treat hubbs? Yes, I think so. I make sure he is very involved in the kids' lives. Thankfully, he wants to be also, so this is easy to do. He is very present, and always participating and actively initiates the activities the kids do. I make sure I tell him that I love him and constantly ask the kids to hug him and say "I love you, Papa!" to him. I consciously reign in my temper and I'm mindful of how our arguments (if any!) play out. It's a blessing that we hardly ever quarrel. But when we do, I try to make it a rational discussion of facts rather than let it degenerate into a mud-slinging contest. I do not believe in mind games or in making assumptions about anything hubbs "should know" or "ought to know" due to "common sense". To me, if I want him to know something, I will say it explicitly to him - in plain simple English, so as to make sure that he understands perfectly, what it is I am saying. So it is this way in any arguments/discussions and so it is in our everyday lives. I feel that this reduces miscommunication all round, and makes for a much more peaceful household.
 
Now and then, I'd make doe eyes at him and "demand" that he should never love another woman, that he should only love me and the kids. I'd tell him that we need him always, that he has to take care of us, and he cannot assume that we can take care of ourselves even though it may seem that way. All this is said and expressed to him explicitly in words, and hugs and kisses. But especially in words. They always say that women likes to hear sweet nothings? Well, I think men need to as well.

Writing the Unspeakable indeed. I would never have written this for my blog, if not for Evelyn's prompting! Thanks Evelyn!  After reading my draft of this post, it in turn prompted Evelyn to write her thoughts on this fear of spousal cheating as well - go read!

Quite a character

I love this picture of Isaac! :)

Isaac's quite a character. He has certain quirks which I used to put down to him acting his age. But now, having another two kids, I can see how all three are different in their own way, and it can sometimes be very presumptuous to say kids behave in a certain way coz they are "at that age". Also, having spoken with lots of mummies lately, they also tell me that not all the kids Isaac's age, behaves the way he does.

I am referring to how he is a very structured boy who seems to be a stickler for rules, and how things "should be". Also, I call him Mr Preempter because I need to preempt  him about how certain events will take place (say, our plans for the day), and not just spring it on him last minute or change our plans without warning, coz that will upset him. We have to remind ourselves of this so that we can prepare him so as not to upset him.

 

We just experienced it on Monday. Hubbs and I decided to take Monday off to convert this past weekend into a super long Labour Day weekend. We wanted to take the kids on an urban adventure. Instead of driving out like we normally do, we took the kids on the train instead. I'd do a separate post on this urban adventure with the pix we took that day. But for this post, I wish to talk about Isaac.

He asked me:"Mummy, which stop are we taking the train to?" And I told him "City Hall" coz initially, we thought of taking the train to City Hall, and then walk to the Art Museum. Then, hubbs had a better idea. He said:"Why don't we take the train to Raffles Place, so that we can walk across the bridge, along the river, and still walk to the Art Museum?" Unfortunately, in our haste to decide (the train was moving very quickly and stops were passing us by), we did not stop to consult with Isaac and convince him of our decision. We simply forced our decision on him, and we said "Now, we're going to Raffles Place instead."
Isaac threw a huge tantrum. He was very upset that we'd changed our minds on the spur of the moment.

Me:"We're going to stop at Raffles Place instead of City Hall, Isaac."
Isaac:"Huh?! But I want to go to City Hall! and the Museum!"
Me:"Yes yes, we're still going to the same Museum. Just that we'd stop at Raffles Place. We can walk along the river and you can cycle your balance bike. It's very nice."
Isaac:"But just now you said we're going to City Hall. So I want to go City Hall."
Me:"Er, yah, that was just now. But now we have decided to stop at Raffles Place. It's just one stop before City Hall. Very near."
Isaac:"No, I want to go to City Hall!"
Me:"Why do you want to go to City Hall? What difference does it make? We're still going to the same Museum."
Isaac:"You said we're going to City Hall, then now you say no City Hall. You're telling lies."
Me:"No, I'm not telling lies. I'm saying we have changed our plans and decided to walk from Raffles Place instead of City Hall. Okay, I tell you what, we'd walk from Raffles Place to City Hall, okay?"
Isaac:"No, I want to go to City Hall FIRST."
Me"What difference is it to you?! You've never even been to City Hall before?!"

Isaac @ 4 years 7 months | March 2012

This incident put Isaac in a horrid mood and he sulked all the way as we walked around Raffles Place and found a place to have lunch. In his bid to spite us, he said:"Hummpph, I don't want to eat lunch. I'm not hungry." This was the first time he'd threatened not to eat for the sake of throwing a tantrum and we were really getting quite annoyed with him. So hubbs gave him more warnings to stop his obnoxious behaviour. When he still persisted, hubbs smacked him a huge one on his bum. He cried, cried some more, asked for me, but hubbs made him stand in a corner for awhile before asking him to apologise for his horrid behaviour; then was he allowed to come let me hug and comfort him.

Me:"Isaac... please choose to be happy. This should be a good day, right? Mummy and Papa bring you, Asher & Shawna out, we take the train, we go gai-gai... Choose to be happy. You enjoyed the train ride, didn't you? *He nods* So, be happy that you got to take the train. Enjoy yourself. Don't choose to be upset over little things and things that are not important. Don't black face, okay?"
Isaac:"I never black face."
Me:"Is it? I'm looking at your face and it's very black."
Isaac:"This is angry face. It is not black face."
Me:"Angry face IS black face lah!"
Isaac:"Oh. You didn't tell me that angry face is called black face."
Me:"Okay so now you know. So... no black face,okay? Please choose to be happy? Mummy wants you to be happy and have fun. Not have angry black face and be upset all day. Okay? Please?"
Isaac:"Okay Mummy."

And so, after the spanking episode, Isaac decided to be happy, and he was. He gradually lost his black face over eating his spaghetti, and he started enjoying the rest of the day. In order to pacify his need to go to City Hall, we decided to walk there. So we told Isaac, we'd walk to City Hall. But on our way there, we made plans to meet up with another family in Sentosa, to bring the kids to the beach to play sand. With the morning's episode still fresh in my mind, I went to talk to Isaac.

Me:"Isaac... do you want to go to the beach?"
Isaac:"Yes..."
Me:"Okay, so shall we not go to City Hall now? Shall we take a taxi car to the beach?"
Isaac:"But I want to go to City Hall. You said we're walking to City Hall."
Me:"Yes, I did say that. Hmmm... do you want to see Brandon? (our friends' son, same age as Isaac)"
Isaac:"Yes. But I want to go to City Hall first."
Me:"Riiight. But Brandon is going to the beach now, you know. We can go City Hall another time. Now, we take a taxi car to go to the beach to meet Brandon there. How about that?"
Isaac:"You will forget to go to City Hall."
Me:"No, I won't. Another day, we go. Now, we go to the beach, alright?"
Isaac:"Oh alright."

And there was no fuss. We took a cab to Sentosa, and had lots of fun the rest of the day without anymore tantrums from Isaac. And so I joked with hubbs:"Your son is the "consultative type" - must consult him and get his agreement; cannot force our decision on him!" :)

Sing, sing a song

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud, sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song

I love singing. I love hearing my voice. I love listening to the lyrics of songs, and try to figure out the story behind the lyrics. I love making up my own parodies/alternate versions of songs.

I've listened to my fair share of the radio when I was young, taping songs off 98.7FM's Say it With Music, and playing+stopping the tape to listen to the lyrics to write them down etc. It's so much easier now, to search for lyrics off the internet. The two stanzas above are from Sing A Song by The Carpenters, by the way.

So now, with the kids, I sing a lot to them. It started when Isaac was in my stomach. Never too early to let him listen to Mummy's voice, I thought. So even when I was pregnant with him, I'd sing to him. When the kids were wee babies, singing was also a useful tool to lull them to sleep. 

Interestingly, the twins seem to be more musically inclined than Isaac was, in the sense that they took to singing and songs much earlier than Isaac did. Then again, it could also be due to the fact that the twins started childcare earlier than Isaac did. *shrug* or that could be a coincidence.

Anyway, one day, many months back, while listening to the kids singing along to BINGO - I realised that the twins, despite being younger than 2 years old (at that time) knew how to spell the blasted dog's name "Bingo"! Dang! I thought to myself! Why is it that a child would know how to spell some fictional farmer's dog's name - even before they knew how to spell their own name?! Something is not right! So I had an excellent idea - I'd use the Bingo song to teach the kids to spell their own name! And so I embarked on one of my favourite pastimes - creating personalised alternate versions of known songs! :p

 

Sing to the tune of "Bingo"
There is a handsome boy I know
And Asher is his name, oh
A S H E R! A S H E R! A S H E R! and Asher is his name oh!

There is a pretty girl I know
And Shawna is her name, oh
S H A W N A! S H A W N A! S H A W N A! and Shawna is his name oh!

There is a clever boy I know
And Isaac is his name, oh
I S A A C! I S A A C! I S A A C! and Isaac is his name oh!
 ...
And that's how Asher and Shawna learnt to spell their names before they even turned two. Isaac already knew how to spell his name, at this point in time. Asher and Shawna even know how to sing each others' name! Asher's name is easier to spell, coz it has 5 letters and corresponds directly to the Bingo. Shawna's name has an extra letter, which you must speed up the spelling a little when singing along to the Bingo tune - but it still works.

 

Ring a Round of Roses
Ring a round of roses, a pocket full of roses
Asher! Asher! We all fall down!

Ring a round of roses, a pocket full of roses
Shawna! Shawna! We all fall down!

Ring a round of roses, a pocket full of roses
Isaac! Isaac! We all fall down!
...
I didn't start this one. Shawna did. Think coz "Ashes" and "Asher" sounded similar, so Shawna really thought it was "Asher! Asher! We all fall down."

 

Sing to the tune of "Old MacDonald had a farm"
My father is Mr Tan, E I E I O
And in his house there's Asher Tan, E I E I O
Asher cry cry here, Asher cry cry there, here cry there cry, every time cry cry
Asher Tan must be a good boy E I E I O

My father is Mr Tan, E I E I O
And in his house there's Shawna Tan, E I E I O
Shawna pull pull here, Shawna push push there, pull here push there, every time so rough
Shawna Tan must be a good girl E I E I O
 
My father is Mr Tan, E I E I O
And in his house there's Isaac Tan, E I E I O
Isaac whine whine here, Isaac groan groan there, here whine there groan, everyday moan moan

Isaac Tan must be a good boy E I E I O

haha this one irritates Isaac to no end. He'd start whining "Noooooo....." when I start singing his stanza, until I change the adjectives to something good about him. The good thing about all these songs is that it's very easy to change the lyrics on a whim.

Pictures all taken on 22nd April 2012

Last night, in trying to get the kids to sleep early, since it's a working day today, we switched off the lights and told the kids "Sleep!!!" Asher was lying next to me, and he started singing the following in the tune of "Wheels on the Bus (goes round and round)"
Asher:" The Mummy on the bus say ''Go to sleep','Go to sleep','Go to sleep' The Mummy on the bus say ''Go to sleep', all night long"
Hubbs:"Asher!!! Go to sleep!!!"
Me:*snickering away*

A few weeks ago, while hubbs was playing "London Bridge is Falling Down" with the kids, Shawna substituted her name in:"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, my fair Shawna!"

So! The kids are starting to learn the knack of substituting lyrics with their own words! Faboo!!! So proud of them!!! :) Hubbs says they are definitely my kids indeed!!! :)

Boobies talk

Look at my Isaac. He's such a big boy already. He'd be turning 5 this year in August. My friends comment that he looks a bit different in real life compared to his photos. Apparently his photos make him look older than he is. Looking at these two photos below, you can almost see how he'd look like as a teenager. I'm crossing my fingers that he'd still have complexion this good when he is in his teenage years.

11 April 2012 | Isaac @ 4 years 8 months

17 May 2011 | Isaac @ 3 years 9 months

It's easy to sort of ignore the fact that your kids are growing old... until you start to realise that they are getting to be more aware of themselves, people around them and their surroundings. It started sometime last year when hubbs had his first "sex education" talk with Isaac.

I'd come home after work, and Isaac ran to the door to greet me.
Isaac:"Mummy, Mummy! I know how I am born!"
Me:"Really? How? How were you born?"
Isaac:"Yes! I was in your stomach, and then you push me out!"
Me:"Er, right! That's right! Who told you?"
Isaac:"Papa!"
We walked into the house. Hubbs was having his dinner, and I sat down to join him.
Hubbs:"So, Isaac, you told Mummy what you learnt?"
Isaac:"Yes, I told Mummy already."
Me:"Yeah, he told me he was in my stomach and I pushed him out."
Hubbs:"Huh?! That's all!? Isaac! You learnt much more, didn't you? Papa told you..."
Isaac:"huh?"
Hubbs:"Remember, Papa told you about Mummy having an Egg. Then Papa have many little sperm, in the balls, then the sperm go and fertilise the egg, then you will be in Mummy's stomach? Remember?
Isaac:"Oh yah..."
Me:"Erm, what brought this about? How come suddenly got this, er, lesson, huh?"
Hubbs:"Oh, we were peeing together at the toilet bowl, then Isaac pointed to my balls and asked me what they were. So I told him, they were called balls, or testicles, or lam pa..."
Me:"*bulging*eyes* Did you have to be sooooo specific?!"
Hubbs *grinned* at me. Faint.

4 February 2012 | Shawna @ 25 months

So maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised when Isaac started to notice stuff... like boobies. Now, for the record, I didn't teach him that word...

A week or so ago, I was drying Shawna after her bath, and dressing her when...
Isaac:"Hey Mummy, look, Shawna has boobies!"
Me:"*splutter* What?! Oh yeah. She does, doesn't she... where did you learn this word "boobies" from?"
Isaac:"Oh, it's Angus, he says "boobies" hahahahaha..."
Me:"Oh I see" Angus is Isaac's classmate.
Isaac:"Mummy, why is Shawna's boobies so small? Yours so big."
Me:"Er... That's because Shawna is still young, next time when she is a big girl, she will have bigger boobies. And they're called breasts lah; can you please don't say 'boobies'?"
Isaac:"Oh! I know! So when she is a Mummy like you, then she will have big boo - breasts?"
Me:"Not really. She doesn't need to be a Mummy to have bigger breasts. When she grow up, she will have bigger breasts already."
Isaac:"Ohhhhh..... Only girls have breasts, right?"
Me:"Er, technically boys have breasts too. Just that boys breasts are smaller than girls' breasts. Like, see Papa, his breasts very small right? Oh, and we usually call boys' breasts "chest". Yes, something like that."
Isaac:" ... " *info*overload*

Then a few days ago... it happened again...
Isaac:"Mummy, Mummy, look! Shawna is just like you!"
Me:"Oh, really?"
Isaac:"Yes! She has boobies like your pump-milk-things!"
Me: *stunned* (even though it's happened before!) "Oh, you mean she has breasts like I do? They're called breasts, darling. Don't say boobies. Not nice. Who taught you this word?"
Isaac:"It's Angus! I told you before, you forget!"
Me:"Ah yes, Angus. And you forgot I told you that boobies are actually called breasts."
Isaac:"Oh yah, I forgot. Sorry Mummy."
Me:"It's okay. Just don't keep saying boobies okay?"
Isaac:"Okay, Mummy!"

29 November 2011 | Shawna @ 22 months

17 May 2011 | Shawna @ 16 months

So, does Shawna have boobies? Yes, indeed she does. Manage to pull out the above pics which show her cleavage, but is not too chao-gng (over-exposed). Most of our friends and family have noticed her very natural cleavage. It's so amazing. Who'd have thought that one can have a cleavage at such a young age?!

Asher the lazy eater

Asher stares on in horror at Shawna licking her plate clean... | Pic taken on 7th April 2012

Asher and Shawna are as different as twins come. As you can see from their sizes, Shawna definitely eats more than Asher does. But then, anybody can easily eat more than Asher does, even a 10 month old, I'd say. That's coz Asher doesn't eat much at all.

While Shawna took to solids with great gusto, trying almost everything, lapped up the porridge, then rice, and now noodles and meat and vegetable... Asher just didn't eat. He survives mainly on the formula milk he drinks. Other than that, he doesn't seem interested in most solid food. When we fed him solid food, he used to gag, no matter the amount of food we fed him.

With most kids, when they take to solids slower, people just wave it off as a "late" bloomer. But with a twin sister around, people kind of assume that you should be more or less the same pace as the twin, if not, something must be wrong. Everyone was very concerned. Were Asher's tonsils too big? Is his tongue stuck to the bottom of his mouth? Are his teeth too small? His tongue too short? Too big?

The boy and his chocolate cake | Pic taken on 30th December 2011

Rubbish. You know what gets his mouth open? CHOCOLATE. This boy luurrrves chocolate. He had his first taste of chocolate when he was about 18 months old, in Margaret River, Perth, Australia. Chocolate from the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. You could feed him a whole chunk of chocolate, and he'd know how to bite it, chew and swallow it. So there's nothing wrong with his teeth or his tongue or his throat or whatever. He's just inherited my love for chocolate - though he's much more extreme than me!

He's just a lazy eater with a sweet tooth. He used to only take cereal for his meals. And it's not cornflakes kinda cereal, it's the Nestum, Quaker Oats kinda cereal - the really runny and gooey stuff. He likes gooey stuff, apparently. Just swallow. Asher's improved a bit lately. He likes spaghetti, chinese thin noodles, and sometimes takes rice. Recently, we even resorted to giving him "spaghetti rice" - rice with spaghetti sauce on it. Though with him, we tend to have to cut up the noodles and meat a bit, coz the lazy eater him just swallows his food.

Comparatively, Shawna and Isaac are much easier to feed.

No, she didn't eat ALL of those...

Above two pix: The kids first taste of hawker food. | Pix taken on 19th February 2012

Shawna likes most food but we realise that she likes variety. She may love the food you're giving her, but if you give it to her too often, she starts to reject it. So even though she likes rice, she started rejecting it for awhile. Until I realised that she wants variety. So now, I make sure we stock up on different types of pasta: abc pasta, macaroni, angel hair, spaghetti, the shells, etc. 

Isaac has his favourites that are good fall-backs: chicken rice, char siew rice, pizza, spaghetti... He used to be really picky till he started childcare, so he's pretty good with eating most stuff now.

It's good that they all like spaghetti. We're ready for a trip to Australia now :) kekeke...

Backpost... safer?

Recently with all the kidnapping scare, I've been wondering if I have been too open on my blog, about our lives. Am I giving away too many details about ourselves? Is my blogging endangering my children's lives? One good habit I have, I suppose, is that I try not to blog about "upcoming events". I usually blog about events that have past. I remember a picnic we had several years ago with some close friends of mine, and I took pictures of the kids playing. My friend turned to me and said:"So I guess we'd see these pictures on your blog only after a few months? Or maybe... next year?" :p

Well, unfortunate as it may be that I am so'late' in my blogging (blogging about something which happened months ago), it has appeared to be a positive safety "feature" in these scary times. hehehe...

So without further ado, I present to you my latest backpost - New Stuff for the New Year!

Hmmm... "latest backpost" - oxymoron?! :)

How the Grinch Stole Breastfeeding

I love Dr Seuss books, and when I posted "Breastfeeding, the Dr Seuss style" the last time (which Andrea sent me), she sent me another one! This one below!

How the Grinch Stole Breastfeeding

By Chuck Dufano, WIC breastfeeding coordinator with the Johnson County Health Department in Iowa City, Iowa (with thanks to Dr. Seuss).

Every Who down in Who-ville liked breastfeeding a lot
But the Grinch,
Who lived just north of Who-ville,
Did NOT!

The Grinch hated breastfeeding -- no matter what season,
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be, he thought, there wasn't enough nourishment.
It could be, perhaps, to see it caused him embarrassment.
But I think that the most likely reason above others
Was he thought the Who-kids would love only their mothers.

And the more the Grinch thought all about breastfeeding
The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!
Why for fifty three years I've put up with it. Now,
I must stop these Who-kids from breastfeeding...but how?"

Then he got an idea.
An awful idea!
The Grinch
Got a wonderful, awful idea!

"I know just what to do!" the Grinch laughed in his throat.
And made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat.
And he grabbed a big briefcase with great Grinchy pep.
"In this get-up I look like a formula rep!"

All the Whos were dreaming sweet dreams without care
When he came to the first little house on the square.
He climbed down the chimney while the Whos still slept
Then off to the nursery on his belly he crept.

He took all the bra pads and breast shells.
He took all the bags for expressed milk as well
He took the diaper log and breastfeeding diary
He took the La Leche League book from the library.

In their place he put powdered Enfamil cans
And Prosobee concentrate for soy-formula fans.
Next to it all with a great heavy lug
He placed a gallon store-bought filtered water jug.

"And NOW," grinned the Grinch, "the last thing to dump
Is the electric double breastfeeding pump!"
And the Grinch grabbed the pump, and he started to shove.
When he heard the small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast and saw a small Who.
Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two.

She stared at the Grinch and said "Santy Claus, why,
Why are you taking our breastpump, why?"

But you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
"Why my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
"There's something wrong with the wiring inside.
So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear,
I'll fix it up there.  Then I'll bring it back here."

But Cindy-Lou Who started to fret.
"Oh, my Daddy's going to be awfully upset!
He feeds baby mommy's milk when she is away,
He does this at least two or three times every day!"

"You mean your Daddy can feed baby breastmilk?"
The Grinch asked Cindy-Lou.
"Oh, yes," she replied,
And he changes diapers, too!
He gives the baby a bath and they play peek-a-boo.
When mommy's nursing he brings her a cup of water or two!"

Now the Grinch stood puzzling and puzzling 'til his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
"Maybe breastfeeding," he thought, shouldn't make me moan.
"Maybe breastfeeding...perhaps...isn't mother's job alone!"

And now that his heart was no longer bitter
He became the official Who-baby sitter.
And to all those who listened to his heeding

He...he HIMSELF!
The Grinch encouraged breastfeeding!

Dating life? Huh? What's that?

 

I'd recently been invited to joined a Closed Group on Facebook - a group of Singapore Mom Bloggers. It's a pretty active group, not surprising really, since it's a group of women who love to blog and are hence, more articulate than the average person. It's nice to talk to people who are as susceptible to succumb to verbal diarrhoea as I am :p Verbal Diarrhoea Anonymous kekeke...

 This morning, Evelyn wrote this blog post on her blog, and asked the question "How long did you take to get your dating life on track?" Adeline said:"Huh? What's that?" (which I immediately "Liked" and promptly borrowed her line for my title of this post).

With three kids, it is indeed very difficult to have time for just the two of us. When the kids are in childcare, we're at work. At nights and during the weekends, hubbs and I make it a point to treasure the time we have with the kids and be with them. We enjoy taking them out (park, playground, swimming, zoo, bird park, visit friends...) or just doing stuff with them indoors (play boardgames, jigsaws, read books, watch movies on our home theatre system...)... However, this conspires to ensure that we hardly have time for ourselves to even read the newspapers in peace, much less have a 'date'.

 

However, every once in awhile, hubbs and I would try to find time to spend a few quiet moments with each other. Usually, we'd take advantage of the situations/circumstances in our lives. For one, hubbs and I enjoy going for concerts and plays/performances. So a few times a year, when certain artists we like throws a concert, we'd book tickets to go. These past years, we've been to Eric Moo concert (where I fell asleep hugging hubbs' leg as he was standing on the chair having a raving good time), went to Chong Feng (Singapore xinyao) quite a number of years, Air Supply concert, Kit Chan concert, and recently to a performance by Corrinne May. Thankfully, my parents, in-laws, or my sister would help us out with babysitting the kidzes for a few hours.

Sometimes, we would take leave and spend the day together. Or when the childcare has some school celebration (for Christmas, Chinese New Year, and whatnot) so that we are supposed to be at the childcare at 4pm for some performance by the kids - we'd both usually try to take leave that day, so that we can spend the morning and early afternoon together while the kids are in childcare - yes, we send them in as usual! :)

On such occasions, we don't usually do anything spectacular. But we usually make sure we have a good meal together - whether it is a Japanese ala carte buffet, or head down to Chinatown for my favourite jiao-zi (dumplings) and his favourite frog legs porridge or even something as mundane as a meal in our nearby coffeeshop. But at least we get to eat in peace and quiet, something which is hard to come by with 3 kids!

We also enjoy having a foot/back massage together. Or we go check out some place that we've been hearing about but never got the chance to go yet - like this obscure industrial building at Kallang River that has been repositioned as an eclectic mix of idunnowhat. Called Ture (as in the last syllable of "adventure" - yes, horrible name indeed). It has a gourmet coffee joint on the ground floor, a children's enrichment centre, a ukelele shop, and a rockclimbing gym, to name some of the tenants.)

The thing about stealing time together - we talk a lot about the kids! We enjoy laughing about the antics the kids get up to, and re-enacting the funny look/face Asher did the previous night. Laugh about how feisty Shawna is. Commiserate with each other on how Isaac's whining is driving us crazy. So in a way, the kids are always with us. And having recharged by spending some leisure time together, we go fetch the kids from childcare a littler earlier, so that we can have more time with them that night. We found that we miss the kids!

That said, I think it's important that we still have our couple time, even if we spend most of it talking about the kids :) So, I wouldn't say we have a dating life - but we do try to steal some time alone, now and then. And that works for us.

Now, what I would like to get back, is the number of photos we have taken as a couple! There're virtually none in recent years! I managed to find these three above from a photoshoot we did back in April 2010!!! Which is almost 2 years ago!!!

Rockclimbing is more brain than brawn!

Last Sunday, we went to our friend's place for a rockclimbing session. Our friend, Chee Beng, a rockclimbing enthusiast has a rockclimbing wall installed on the side of his corner terrace home. So he and his family welcomes us over anytime to climb his wall. Being a rockclimbing enthusiast himself, hubbs is happy to oblige and drop by to climb.

Below is our Isaac, trying to climb the wall. A half meter higher (than in the picture) is about as far as he got that day. It was his third time climbing a wall. He tried a few times on Sunday, but I don't think he made it to the top. We tried to console ourselves that "he's inexperienced" and "he's just a little boy". But our friends,  Chan Peng and Xiaofeng's sons, just put that theory to rest.

 

Photo collage courtesy of Hay & Yu's parents' Chan Peng & Xiaofeng

The boy above in red is Yu, he is 4 years old this year. And Sunday was his first time climbing a rockclimbing wall. And look, he made it to the top! Below, the boy in white, is Yu's older brother - Hay, who is 6 years old this year. Also his first time climbing, and he managed to scale the entire wall too. As you can see, these boys aren't exactly mini Ironmans or anything like that. Yu is average in size, and Hay is one of the scrawniest 6 year old boys I have ever seen, and yet, they could do it. They scaled the wall.

Photo collage courtesy of Hay & Yu's parents' Chan Peng & Xiaofeng

We realised that rockclimbing is, in a way, more brain than brawn. All things being equal, having the right attitude is more important than having more muscles. Hay & Yu persevered, and kept trying, and they managed to scale the wall.

Isaac, on the other hand, kept saying things like "I cannot do it." "I can't I can't", and gave up a bit too easily. Looking back, I wasn't surprised, as Isaac is the type that has to have a lot of early success in order to bolster his confidence into persevering and doing well. This extends to other parts of his life. Just that it is in this instance, that it brought this aspect out so starkly.

Discussing this with hubbs, it triggered another discussion on an issue which was lingering at the back of our minds. Isaac starts primary school in 2 years time, you see. And hubbs being a Catholic High School (Pri & Sec) alumni, Isaac would have priority to get into Catholic High Primary School. Our problem is that it's sooooo far from where we are currently staying, so we are thinking twice about sending Isaac there. It seems a fightful waste not to send him to such a good school though.

But now, this discussion triggered a thought. Isaac is a very bright boy and from what we can see, he is above average amongst his peers. But, given his character, perhaps Isaac would fare better if he were placed in an average school where he is amongst the top-performers; rather than go to a good school like Catholic High, and he average there. Hmmmm... food for thought... we have one year to decide where to register him for...

Note: Photo-collages were used with approval. They first appeared at the Chans' blog here!