Me? Big Bully?

I underestimate the little rascal. Some of you may already know this, but pardon my lack, or rather non-existent experience with babies.

Babies are NOT stupid as they look sometimes (see picture). There are a lot going on in their little devious mind, their massive neural activity is probably enough to light a bulb *ttrrrring* which symbolises ideas like "Eh, why don't I empty all the drawers and perform 'stock-taking' of the household inventory" which by the way, it's his favourite pastime.

Being inexperienced, I recently learnt that a barely-walking drool machine is 'bullying' me, as auntie put it, "Ta chi fu ni ah!" Why? M-A-N-J-A. I am not stern. I let him take advantage of my affections. I carry him whenever he wants me to, ALL day. I don't have big fierce eyes to glare at him when he sticks his little finger into the electrical power slot. I don't have strong commanding voice to lecture him when he sticks his little finger into the toilet bowl. But now I have, and armed with a feather duster. Then there comes the inevitable question... spare the rod? spoil the child? Or use the rod, seksa the child kao kao?

Most Westerners would use time-out, and maybe the 'I WANT an apology (british accent)' and explain to the little devil why he is being punished. Asians get beaten up, with whatever mummy gets her hands on, or sometimes WITH the hands themselves, AND THEN explain why the little devil is beaten, or sometimes no explanation at all. In fact, kena beaten for no reason also got. Like gangsters beating up the wrong guy (true story in Seremban), I wonder if those moms with 8 kids sometimes make that mistake, you know, beat beat beat, then alamak , wrong kid!

So, my disciplinary scheme will be based on stages of sin. Right now, since he still has wobbly knees and goes mmamammdaadadadada, I will use stern voice and distraction method, you know, like when he plays with wires, I will say NO pulling on the wires, and pull him away and distract him with porn. Hahahaha, gotcha. I kid! I kid! Yah, something like that. When he is older, and IF violence is required, I will use a wooden ladle to whack him. This method was used by a good friend's sister of mine who is living in the States. SO, some westerners/western-thinking moms DO use the rod. The rationale behind this is, never use your hands to hit a child, hands are for loving. And you don't have to use a wooden ladle, it can be a shoe, a cha-kiak, a leather belt, or anything leather.. wait, that sounds S&M, anything that looks harmless, feather duster being the most popular, can beat and dust his toys at the same time.

But all mothers agree, the person who hurts the most are themselves. It'll never be easy, especially the first time. But we do anything to bring our children to the righteous path. Aaa-mmeeenn.


Hehehehe

Exhausted

I think I am stressed over something, or some things. I have been having a bit of a trouble falling asleep. And when I do fall asleep, I am like on alert mode, macam tidur tidur ayam. I'm really like tidur tak lena, makan tak kenyang, mandi tak basah...masak tak sedap, cuci tak bersih, mimpi tak shiok.. you know, like everything you do, it's just not right. I think I am anxious, or impatient, want to get things done fast and efficiently, always fighting for time, too tense, too hectic, too forgetful too. I need to slow down and smell the bunga rayas or I will suffer a serious case of exhaustion one day.

It's such a learning process, this motherhood thing. At the babysitter, the little rascal naps twice a day, 2 hours each. Ally thinks: Great! I can do my stuffs, and nap too! My life is perfect! Or so I thought. The little rascal DO NOT nap twice, 2 hours each. He crawls, climbs, play, wants mummy to sing song and clap hands all day, and sleeps for an hour. And mua is exhausted. So I told myself, NEVER have expectations. And it's like battle of the wills. See who can last longer. I know he is tired and sleepy but he seem to want to stay awake...you know like the song "I don't want to miss a thing"...like so sweet right? He wants to spend as much waking moments with mummy and daddy and doesn't want to miss anything. But it's not sweet when both baby and mom are tired, then there's no quality play time. I explained to him, and I hope he understands deep inside.

AWWWW!

I couldn't believe it when I saw this picture... does he look like Henn henn or what?!! Amazing huh!


Here's more CHEEKies... really want to cubit the pipi.

Focus on Being

During a small-group exercise at a seminar, the group was asked to introduce themselves without referring to their occupations. The challenge was to explain who they are instead of telling what they do. It was not easy to focus on being instead of doing.
Dr. William H. Thomas, a geriatric specialist, has pointed out that babies begin life by being. As we approach adulthood, the emphasis shifts to accomplishment. Then, as we grow older and our energy wanes, we must refocus on being. “Elderhood brings us full circle,” Thomas says, “to a life that favors being over doing. This is a gift of great value.”
We can't help but live in the race of our lives. Most people would agree that they live to work, work to pay bills, pay bills to sustain their livinghood and comfort, and then they can focus on what they want to do in life. But we will never finish paying our bills as long as we live, so when can that eventual dream come true? And in that race, we sometimes forget who we ARE, and focus on what we DO,DO,DO and what we need to DO. In reality not many people have the luxury to focus on themselves because of various commitments around them, but amidst hardship, some learn to also take care of their spiritual selves and that is one of the most useful survival skill in this fast and ever-changing world. I think being is being happy.

Photography- Unedited

Allow me to impress you with some artistic photos... or not. Sim's favourite subjects are flowers, and mine shall be Daniel, who moves a lot, thus presents a tough challenge. So, Sim, when Henn Henn starts moving non-stop, let me in on some photography tips. So far, here are some pictures which I think can make the cut for National Geographic's Photo of the Year...or not.

As close as I can get. Not bad siah considering it was taken in a moving car, and you know how shitty are JB roads. The long lashes are courtesy of Paul's genes. I need fake lashes or lots of mascara for the similar effect. Look closer, NO PORES! *envy*


This picture speaks movements. You can tell that Daniel moved swiftly and his tongue is going to swing out. I had no time to practise the art of panning, like those techniques you use at a race where your subject moves at the speed of light, and you capture it's still image and the background is blurry. I will wait till Daniel runs at the speed of light, then I can make use of this opportunity to pan.


This materpiece here illustrates distance and space, and his triumph in grabbing my camera. I used the 'continuous mode', where you click and hold, and the camera keeps capturing images until you release the button. So cool! usually there'll be at least one good picture out of say.. ten. Ah... bless today's technology.

Keep a lookout for the next Photography-Unedited episode folks!

Shoe Madness!

Yah, I went mad. Why? Jusco sale! 3 pairs of new shoes at half price. Xiao xiao xiao!

It's not about the shoes. They represent the rare freedom I had, which is, a day entirely for myself. No work, no 10kg moving bag of rice clung to my hips, no housechores, no nothing. Just a day of leisure where time is endless, and your world revolves around what you want and nothing else. That, my friends, is rare freedom. And I celebrated it with 3 pairs of shoes...and a bag, and a top. Hehehe. Quality shopping spree is the true retail therapy, so womenfolk, try this, deprive yourself for almost one year, then launch yourself into the shopping mall one day, particularly during hot sale season. It's better than sex.

I'm One!

Hello everybody! I am one! Woo hooo! I can get my driver's license in 17 years time.
On my birthday, Dada and Mama got me a nice big chocolate cake, but mama ate 80% of it because it was so delicious. They sang me a birthday song and blew my candle too because I don't know how to. But I was very fascinated with the flame on the candle.

After my nap, we all went to Jusco Tebrau City and I had loads of fun on the kiddie ride park.



Then for the first time, I entered a paradise... TOYS R US! I 've never seen so many colourful things before! Even dada and mama were fascinated too, I think they want to play too. Dada thinks I will develop good rhythm, so he bought me a ... *drum roll*

Bom bom bom bom bom CHING! Woo hoo! I'm a rockstar! Well, it was a great day, not because of the presents, but because dada and mama spent my birthday with me :)

Good night folks and thank you all for your wonderful presents!!