Saturday, September 26, 2009

At the Beach

The Three
Her first
The warm-up
The fun
The exhaustion

So glad to come home safely.
After pulling an all-nighter at the Overnight Crop in MWL, I was totally sleep-deprived. But it was fun and the company made all the difference.
I did not plan very well for the crop, grabbing several project kits with instructions and some basic tools. I made sure to grab a box of stamps, which served useful in embellishing the three projects I attempted. I wish I can continue with the projects, but my head is getting heavy.
E was upset without me at bedtime. But she just stirred and, realizing I have returned, is now asleep again. I should join her ...

Sunday, September 20, 2009

To my Muslim friends:

Selamat Hari Raya!

Have a great time with family and friends.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Slow Mojo

Hardly scrapped in the last 2 weeks and when I did, I took forever with this one. I selected some papers, cut them up and chucked them, only to repeat this with another selection. Finally settled on this set of paper. Minimal embellishments, but I still overdosed on the flowers.Can you count how many I stacked together?
The next layout is a follow-up from Jasmine's Freshly Squeezed class. Lots of material left after the class and so I scrapped a matching page with photos from the same event.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

So blessed

To be surrounded by friends and family.
To be healthy and able to work and play and laugh and love.
To be loved with an everlasting love.
Just. Simply. Blessed

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Finally, conversations

I have been enjoying myself lately, chatting with E and laughing at her amusing remarks.

Yesterday I took her to the provision shop to get bread for breakfast. After breakfast, I explained that we will be going out. She frowned and declared "I go out already. I go and buy breakfast."

She says grace before meals and even milk and snacks. After she finished her lunch, she saw my bowl of noodles and asked to "share Mommy food". I agreed and she promptly prayed "Thank You Jesus for Mommy food. Amen."

I feel as though, finally, I have REAL conversations with E instead of mommy monologues.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Today is my day off and I went with E to the exhibition.

I had two opposing experiences in service attitude here. One left a bad taste in my mouth while the other left something sweet for E.

The first took place in the very first exhibition room: There was another baby in the group whom E was interacting with. The two mothers retreated to the far end of the room when the curator started his talk, which he explained will take 12 minutes. E was giggling and trying to play with the baby so I carried her and reminded her to keep her volume down. She is able to control that, except for her bursts of laughter when she got amused with the baby. In the meantime, the two mothers were straining to hear the curator from afar while handling our wriggling babies.

Out of the blue, the curator shouted across the room and asked that E be taken out of the room. I'm not entirely oblivious to the occasional noise that E made, but I am sure she wasn't disruptive. She was just giggling and saying things like "peek a boo" and "where's baby". Moreover, I didn't think the group minded. You know how some people might glare at a whining or screaming baby. I certainly didn't get any of those killer stares from them, only from the curator.

The two mothers took the two babies out of the room and waited for the curator to finish, before we could proceed through the room to the next exhibit. I wish I had joined the Chinese-speaking group. When I caught up with this group, the lady was enthusiastically explaining to her group of 3. Her passion for the displays as well as earnestness to get her message across to the group showed. Here is someone who is more concerned with being understood, instead of merely being heard.

The second incident happened at lunch. We went into the cafe half an hour before lunch hour started. I settled at a table so that E could snack on her food. A short while later, the waitress showed up with orange juice for E. I was surprised and touched.
On balance, I encountered many child-friendly people here. Most will tease E and try to get her to say hello. At the very least, they would smile and watch if she would return that. Sure, I cannot demand that people around me accept and accommodate children, noise and all. But surely putting up with two babies for 12 minutes isn't asking for too much. The curator gave me the impression that he simply couldn't bear to be in the same room with a giggling girl and a crawling baby for more than five minutes.

At the other extreme was the thoughtfulness and patience of the waitress. While it is typical that water is served to customers, she exceeded my expectation by offering a large cup of juice, with a straw, to E. When the cafe filled up with more customers and the food was slow in coming, she still went about her duties with her sweet smile, calming impatient customers and showing up with extra serviettes before being asked.

I hope your day has been brightened by someone.

Monday, September 14, 2009

My New Toy

comes with a steep learning curve.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Milestones for a 2-Year Old

This is E with her cooking set and containers ransacked from the kitchen. She will ladle rice and soup and serve us, but not without reminding us "pretend only" when we ask for a spoon to eat with.

She's asking to sleep on her bed, even for afternoon naps. She knows what to ask for when tired (which isn't very often) or hungry (which is almost around the clock).

She is more willing to say "see you" and "bye" than "good morning" and "hello".

She is slowly unlearning her baby words.
E-in? No, E- ryn!
kae-kyu? No, gang-kyu! (Thank you)
Tika Mouse? No, Mee-Kee Mouse!
Air-kyu me? Mmmm. Got to work on the "Excuse me".

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

09-09-09

It's Wednesday. It's September. It's the middle of the school break. Where has the first two-thirds of the year gone? Where has 646 days of working part-time taken me?

E is a true-blue terrible two, headstrong in her opinions about how things are done and what belongs to whom. She decides who to push her pram and how the loaf of bread is to be retied and clipped with the tag. Don't anyone dare to sit on mommy's chair or por-por's sofa or play with daddy's iphone. Only she can sit wherever and hold whosoever's camera/handphone/book.

J has selected the subject combinations for next year and will encounter the decisive year-end examinations for Secondary Two when Term 4 starts. She is at once matured and measured in her school life and friendships, and also displaying teenage angst about personal time and self-esteem. I am only glad that she smiles more often than she sulks. Between a teen and a toddler, a mother's patience can be stretched thin.

I am still juggling work and home. I feel compelled to choose one or the other full-time because I feel I am inadequately filling both roles. Has anyone chosen on or the other and willing to share the experience? Is anyone in the same shoes as me and survived with a story to tell?