4th Birthday

This was our plan for Jerilyn's birthday:

26th - Dinner at Secret Reciple because it has everything we want - scrumptious food, cake and ice-cream.

27th - Drive up to Genting Highlands and spend 2 nights on the hill. The highlights would be the Theme Park of course. But this time, it would be more fun as Jesslyn is old enough to know what is going on around her. The last time we went, she only joined the rides but seemed oblivious to them. I can imagine how they will scream and laugh this time. Even riding on sloopy and winding roads in our car give them the thrill.

29th - Return to Ipoh and prepare for CNY.

This was what happened:

26th night - Dinner at Ye'olde English because Secret Recipe doesn't offer any main courses that Jerilyn likes. However, our experience at Ye'olde English was a disappointment AGAIN. Yup. Made the same mistake.

27th - Jerilyn went to school. Daddy went to work for more than 12hours and Mummy attended a meeting in the college. We cut the cake in the evening and had dinner with Gong Gong.

28th - Got up at 8am and got ready. Eve

Everyone was ready except dear Daddy. He had to prepare an urgent report. The 3 of us waited patiently. At 9am, he received a call from his mother saying that his SIL passed away. Daddy wanted to cancel the trip but I persuaded him to go. We can drive down to JB after our trip to Genting. He relented. Phew! So, we packed for another day. Started our journey at 10am. Reached there at 2pm. It was one of the coldest experience there. So cold that none of us had our shower that day. The theme park outdoor was closed because of the mist. We paid RM88 for indoor. Went on a couple of train-like rides, carousel, ferris-wheel and the gondola. Even Jerilyn said "This train is so slow." This was how much fun we had. :-) Nevertheless, the kids are happy with the outing.

29th - Headed down to JB and returned to Ipoh the next day. These 2 days alone, we spent > 8hours in the car, ONE way. Thank god the kids did not give me any problems. The kids were at their sweetest in JB and got plenty of compliments from relatives. Another Phew!

Home Sweet Home alas, I asked Jerilyn which she prefers, hotel or home. She answered hotel. Why? Because there is no air-cond downstairs at home. Hmm....

Meaningful Remarks

The past few weeks have been a busy period although it's also my semester break. Looking back, I wonder what have I achieved after 4 weeks of break. Anyway, there is nothing worth noting down except for a few quotations I wish to remember. For those who follow FB will find this familiar:

I came back from a new hairstyle and this was what they have to say: Jerilyn "Mummy, you look like a woman. You better stay at home and don't go out. People will laugh at you." Jesslyn "Why is your hair so messy, mummy?" The photo attached was taken a day after I permed my hair. It isn't so bad, is it?

But when Daddy came home with a new haircut, it was a different story. Jerilyn "Wah! Look at the handsome boy! The handsome boy is back."

At the petrol station, Daddy took a phone call and Jerilyn said to him "Daddy, you naughty boy." After a while, "You naughty handsome boy."

Other than that, Jerilyn criticised her teacher twice for 'bad' handwriting. Once, she claimed that '2' looks like '6'. Another time, she claimed the 'LY' in her name looks like 'M'.

My dad told me about his conversation with Jerilyn. It sounds something like this:
Jerilyn: I want to go home to see Mummy.
Gong2: Mummy is at school.
Jerilyn: No. Mummy is not at school. She is not young anymore. She is working. She is an adult.
At home, she took the broom and swept from the masterbedroom, down the stairs and into the dustpan. She told my dad this: Gong2, I am so clever. I sweep the floor because I make Mummy happy.

The best so far is this: "Eh? Why is your UGLY face so PRETTY?" said Jesslyn to Jerilyn.

Weaning off the Pacifier

I have long wanted to wean Jesslyn off the pacifier but it seems more difficult this time because I don't want to disrupt Jerilyn and Hubby's beauty sleep. So, I delayed and delayed. She is 25 months now. Jerilyn was weaned off the pacifier when she was 19months. We didn't have proper sleep for 2 nights.
With Jesslyn, I told myself that I must wean her off during this semester break while I am on holiday. There is no better time than this when Hubby is away on a business trip. Yesterday night, I told her there is no 'chut chut' (as we call it). Surprisingly, she only grumbled "I want chut chut. I want chut chut." a couple of times and twisted and turned for less than 5minutes before she dozed off. It was too easy. :p Why didn't I stop giving her earlier?

Subsequent Schooling Days

A week has passed since Jerilyn started schooling. The first 2 days was fine. No tears. She was jolly about it. In fact, she was also advising her sister this: When you go to school, don't cry ok? I also didn't cry. She boasted that a girl cried and she didn't.
However, on the 3rd night, she started to lose control of herself and lamented that she didn't want bathing in the school, didn't want eating and blah blah blah. She didn't want to study at school but at home. There was no tantrums but sadness in her voice. She pleaded the whole night to stop schooling. When asked why, she came up with stories like 'A girl bullied her' (this is actually Daddy's fault for asking "Did anyone bully you?") and 'The teacher bullied her'.
The next morning, she was whining as expected. I was afraid that she would cause problems for my dad(1st time for him) so I asked Daddy to be late for work to send Jerilyn on that particular day. I, on the other hand, must leave home early for invigilation duty on that day. That night, I made 2 things clear to her:

1. She DOESN'T have to go to school during the weekends
2. Whether she cries or not, she still have to attend classes. No point being unhappy

With these, reality sets in. However, when we talked to her about school, she didn't like to touch the subject. She ignored us or replied "Don't talk about it." She looked gloomy when the subject popped up.
After a long weekend, she whined a bit on Monday. Maybe because she was jolted up from her snooze.
Nevertheless, I am proud she hasn't made a scene in kindy so far. Even though she whines, it's so soft that Jesslyn never gets a rude awakening.

First Day at School

I have always been reluctant to send my kids to kindy. So, when it is ripe for Jerilyn to attend school, it is a big step for me. If it wasn't because of her enthusiasm about school and lack of manpower in baby-sitting the kids, I might delay another year before she attends kindy.

There are 3 kindies around where I live for our convenience and I chose the one which is most sought after. I personally prefer small groups to big groups but the other kindy was a big disappointment.

Hubby and I have been very anxious about her first day even though we know she could handle herself fine and would create a commotion at school. For the past whole month, we prepared her for school by telling her what's going to happen in school and what she needs to do if she requires help. She is very optimistic about school. She calls me 'Teacher' at home. Yesterday, she told me not to stay at the school but to go to work, come home and change my clothes before I fetch her from school. I was relieved to hear that.

We called it a night earlier yesterday but only managed to dozed off at the usual hour (>11.00pm). I intended to wake up at 740am but when morning comes, what woke me up was my dad's call to ask if he needs to look after Jesslyn. The call was at 8.00am. My alarm didn't sound. I jolted Jerilyn. It didnt take me long to wake her up. Her only complaint was she had no energy to walk. So, I had to carry her from room to toilet etc... The moment she was dressed in her uniform and VOILA!!! She changed into another person. From a sleepy, energyless kid into a energetic one. I prepared milk in a bottle for her to drink in the car. She said "Dont bring this bottle to school. Shame shame. Drink this at home. Nobody knows. Take the tumbler to school." OK..... Fine. I never thought she remembers our advice. I took a few photos of her and sent her to school at 8.20am.

At school, I didn't have the chance to go into the building. The teacher said "Ok, Mummy. We will take it from here." She led Jerilyn into the house. I began to walk out but I turned around and saw that she was looking at me too as she was being led away. We didn't say anything to each other. Not even Goodbye. I was told not to bid farewell or things will turn bad. I held my tear 'til I reached the car.

Back home, I felt empty. Too free without her. I facebooked and spent the time with Jesslyn. The time was moving slower than normal. When the clock struck 11.00am. I went straight to the kindy and watched her over cctv. There were 2-3 parents with the same intention. A teacher was explaining to her while writing. Jerilyn had her palm on her forehead, fidgeting and scratching her head as if the teacher was teaching Astronomy. This sight is most familiar to me when she lose interest and becomes restless. OMG! Will she want to go to school again tomorrow? Anyway, I left and returned again at 1.00pm.

In the car, here are some of the things I get:

Did you tell teacher when you want to shee2? What did you say? Yes teacher. My guess is the teacher might have asked them, thus this reply.

What have you learnt? ABC

Have you taken lunch? I eat rice. Then, we go swimming(bathe) and brush our teeth.

Do you want to go to school? Yes

and the list goes on.

At home, she is her old self. It looks like I have nothing to worry about tomorrow.