Lost World of Tambun #3

Jerilyn and Jesslyn came back with leaflets one day, promoting Lost World of Tambun. It was very tempting - Buy 1 Adult, Free 1 Kid. As a result, we visited the place for the third time just before the holidays started. We paid approximately RM120 for 2 adult prices. The normal price for kid is RM50, which means that we saved RM100. 😼

There were some changes since the last time we went in, which was around 2 years ago such as the enclosed area for giraffes and zebras, the porcupine walk, the twister with hot springs and a row of shops depicting the old Ipoh. 

Other than the physical changes, the games that JJ play have changed too. Although they still love the kid's water park and never seem to get enough of it, the girls have ventured into other more adventurous water games such as the Cliff Racer as shown in the video below. I seriously did not expect them to try this slide. I was thinking why not wait til they are a little bit older. However, Jerilyn was already all jumpy the moment she saw other people on it. She insisted to give it a go. What choice do I have? I reminded her several times to hold on tight to the tube in anticipation of her flying out of it. Jesslyn, on the other hand was sceptical. She finally rode on it after trying another milder slide called The Twister. 

Other than that, the 'new' rides we tried  were Lupe's Adventure and the Giddy Galleon. The Giddy Galleon was giddy enough and the roller coaster ride at the Lupe's was scary enough for me to grip Jerilyn's arm as hard as I could. After the ride, both claimed that the ride wasn't scary. I wasn't scared because of the ride itself but because I was afraid that a screw or two might be loose and we would either collapse into a pile or go flying in the air.

During the whole time, I only got wet up to my knees. Did I tell you that I am not a water enthusiast? [I suddenly feel that I am writing like Geronimo]. Anyway, the reason my legs were wet was because I soaked them in the hot pool. Otherwise, I was more of a watcher than a player.

On the whole, it was an enjoyable experience for the girls and that's all that matters.

Planning a Birthday Party

Have wanted to throw a birthday party for Jerilyn and/or Jesslyn as these two have always loved parties and gatherings. When there is a party, they are sure to go. Jerilyn has invited her friends over to play several times but so far, there is no actual parties.

This year, I am ready to hold a party for them. I am pretty excited as this is the first time I plan a party. Although I am all for it, I can't help feeling a little bit worried about how I am going to keep the children occupied for a few hours so they won't feel bored or turn my house into a mess. I want the kids to have a great time at my party. I want them to have positive comments about my party. I want them to go home with a smile. I want them to go home and tell their parents about the fun they have at my party. And to do so, I have to plan.

I have a list of topics in my party planner. They are Guest list, Invitation card, Loot bag, Games, Food and Prizes.

At first, I had no idea what to put in my loot bag. I didn't want to be stingy; neither do I want to be over generous til I am being labelled Kiasu mother. Finally, my loot bag looks like this. Most of the items were from Kaison. This bag cost approximately RM5.00. Somehow, I worry that the kids aren't impressed with the gifts. Do you think they will be happy? Happy or not, I will get some prizes to winners of games to add into their loot bag.

Turning to games, thanks to the power of the Internet, I have found some great ideas for games. I have to ensure that the chosen games are fun enough for the kids yet not messy, easy to prepare, easy to control and do not involve balloons. Here is the possible list:

• Pin the donkey's tail
• Pass the bag
• Duck Duck Goose
• Suck the marshmallows /M&Ms

Next item on the list is Food. The last time Jerilyn went to a birthday party, she was served burger and that alone was enough to make her full. Therefore, I make it a point not to provide heavy food. Below are some of the items I have in mind:

• nuggets
• tarts
• personal pizza (small portion)
• sushi
• varieties of candy (I love colours)
• pudding
• birthday cake

The last item on the list is Prizes. Will just get some small items for the kids like stickers, chocolates, toys etc... 

I have another 4 days to plan before the actual day. 'Til then, Sayonara.  

'Family' Photo during CNY 2016

Here is one of the few occasions where we get together and snap some family photos. 

The Left Behinds

As age catches up, our brains become less efficient thus, more forgetful. My case is worsened with high dosage of caffeine (talking about blaming :p ). FYI, I take between 2 and 3 cups daily so, it's understandable why I blame my carelessness on caffeine. :p

There are uncountable incidents when I forget one thing or another. However, there is one which I will never forget. Every time when I fetch the girls from school, I would be the one who put their heavy bags in the boot while they get into the bag in school. As the bags were trolley bags, they usually dragged the bags themselves. I just had to carry them up and chucked them in the boot.

One fine day, as usual, we walked to our car and I signalled the girls to get in while I walked round the car and got into the driver's seat. We went home, had our lunch and got ready for shower when I remembered that their bags were still in the car. I went out only to find that there was one bag in the car. Jesslyn's bag wasn't there. I hurriedly interrogated Jesslyn. She told me that she dragged the bag to the car and left it on the road. She claimed that I should put it into the boot. Ops!!! My fault?!

Wasting no time, I sped off to school on my own to get the bag. Two things were running in my mind.
1. I prayed that the bag was still  in one piece on the road, waiting for me to collect.
2. I prayed that there was no one around to see me picking up a school bag from the road. How embarassing!

I was there... there was no bag. Oh No! I parked my car. My guess was someone had picked the bag and placed it at the Lost & Found corner. I went to that corner but No. The bag was not there either. I was unsure if I should go to the staff room to enquire as I only wearing shorts and slippers. I couldn't be going home to change. Well, I won't take such troubles. So, I made up my mind. I ran up. The vice principal was there entertaining a parent. She looked at me, not looking very pleased. I ignored her and headed to the staffroom. I asked the first teacher I saw. She wasn't very helpful and gave me directions in Mandarin, which I tried hard to comprehend. Anyway, I walked to another office but no one was there so I had to go back to the staff room. This time, I was lucky. I spotted Jesslyn's English teacher, my saviour!

She helped me to look for the bag. We went back to the car park, the security's house, the main hall and finally back to the staff room. It had never occurred to us that the person who found the bag would put the bag at the desk of Jesslyn's class teacher. I was so relieved. I thanked her numerous times before I left. Phew! 

Stone Painting

Are you surprised to read the title? What? Stone painting? Jo-ann and the kids did stone painting? Well, if you aren't, I was. I mean... you don't often hear me talking about doing handicraft, cooking, baking and that sort, do you?

Here I am, wanting to share with you two of our proud creations. The first was painted by Jerilyn while the second was by Jesslyn.

I must thank my colleague for introducing this wonderful and fun activity to my kids. I am not very artistic so it would never occur to me to do stone painting. My colleague had not only taught me what to use but also provided the stones. She taught me to use poster colours and varnish for best results. 

Well, that's the the positive side of it. Unfortunately, something disastrous happened. The stones were flown away while I was driving my car out! I left these stones on my car for drying after applying some varnish. I had particularly reminded myself to collect them before I drove out. As you could have guessed, the more you tried to remember, the more you will forget and forgot I did. 

We went back the same route in search of these stones. We spotted only 1 but it was ruined. I gave up repainting it cuz this wasn't the first disaster. Before this, the stones were ruined too cuz I had forgotten to collect them during a rainstorm. Another time was because one of us accidentally smeared the paint and as a result, the stone was ruined. 

The dull looking birdy stone is not lying on the coffee table waiting for us to revive its beauty. 

I felt embarrassed and fortunate at the same time when the flying away happened. Embarrassed because it happened when I was on my way to school when many cars were following behind me. Imagine how silly we (my car & I) looked with 2 coloured stones wobbling at the top of my car. On the other hand, I was fortunate none of the stones smashed any windscreen or caused a dent on another car. I would have to pay a high price of being known as The Dangerous Mother. I hope those who saw the stones flying would forget me and my car. 

* Talking about The Dangerous Mother or The ... Mother reminds me of many other silly incidents which I will update in the next blog. 

Sudoku

This is another topic that I thought I should note down. I have first exposed the girls to Sudoku when they were between 6 and 7 years old. They had played a few really easy ones (4x4) when younger. Those 4x4 came with pictures or alphabets. After that, I didn't really introduce them to Sudoku til the age stated above.

So, here is a picture of Jesslyn putting on her thinking cap solving a 9x9 puzzle. Just like my blogging, they either do a sudoku marathon (which is euqals to 3 puzzles at most) or they don't touch a puzzle for months in between.

I took this picture not because she was doing Sudoku. It was because of her serious look that caught my attention. It touches me every time I see her serious at work. So, you can imagine how often is that! 

Blog Marathon

I don't have any particular topic in mind. All of a sudden, I just feel that I need to keep this blog active and hopefully I can 'backdate' some of my updates. My blogs seem seasonal ie. going MIA for months followed by blogging marathon.

Hmm...I don't know where to start. Therefore, I thought that My Dropbox may be able to help me. I found some memorable photos of the girls at an indoor playground, which I wish to share here.

This playgym is located at the mall very near my house. My initial plan was to have lunch with my dad but we ended up here as well after having our meal at Secret Recipe. My dad sat outside the gym, reading the newspapers while waiting for us. The entrance fee was RM10/kid for unlimited play time. As we were not prepared, we were urged to buy socks from them as the rule states that One must play with socks on. It cost around RM5 each pair.

So, we went in after doing all the necessary. FYI, it was the first time I allowed the girls to play in an indoor playground for hygiene purposes. I doubt that management would do a thorough job in maintaining the cleanliness of these sort of playgrounds. Anyway, since the girls had been begging for quite a number of times, I gave in this time.

The first game they played was the huge tyre below. They were laughing their heads off the moment they rolled around. I felt that the RM10 was worth it already. Next they climbed on the huge slide. Actually, at first, Jesslyn was reluctant to climb on the slide. Jerilyn played by herself. After some coaxing and with Jerilyn's guidance, Jesslyn took the big step to climb those steps. Once she came down, there was no stopping her. Both of them went for many rounds. Oh, you might have observed that the girls were not appropriately dressed for this activity.

The activity on the left looked easy but was actually the toughest challenge for (surprisingly) Jerilyn. I have a video of it. Wait til I upload it. It was one of her funniest actions or inaction.

Badminton game @ JB

Visited maternal aunts in December 2015. As their house has a huge compound, the girls took the opportunity to bring the badminton set for a game or two there. This is the first time I record their badminton game with Daddy. Here they are:

Alamak! Youtube should have a software which detects the right way up and convert the video automatically.

Playing the Ukulele

I bought the girls a ukulele as a Christmas present in 2012. The girls loved it but couldn't play a song as none of us know how. Subsequently, I wanted to enrol them with music centres but it never materialised until recently.

Since December 2012, they have learnt how to play a song (Happy Birthday), which I learnt from youtube. Imagine my excitement when the school offers ukulele lessons. I have been waiting for this to happen. Yoohoo... You see, schools aren't what they used to be where students only go there to study and maybe join some co-curricular activities.

Nowadays, businesses are brought to schools for the convenience of the busy parents. You can attend dancing classes, taekwando, badminton, arts, Chinese writing, Olympiad Maths to name a few. This year, there is ukulele too. Without doubt, I enrolled Jesslyn. Jerilyn, on the other hand, has badminton lessons on the same day. It's like killing two birds with one stone. I don't have to go to school at different times to pick them up and Jesslyn can learn to be independent by having a hobby which truly belongs to her. All this while, she follows her sister in her pursuits. This time, she will be the teacher, teaching Jerilyn how to play the ukulele.

That day, she played a song and even sang to it. I have recorded a video, waiting to be uploaded in the youtube before transferring to here. I was pleasantly surprised that she could do all that after just attended two lessons. If it was Jerilyn, I wouldn't be half as surprised as I was with Jesslyn. :p

Take a look.

Ops... I just realise that the recording isn't a full song. :-(

2 weeks without dearest Daddy

When I got to know that hubby was going on a 2 week business trip, I was pretty excited. Firstly, it's Los Angeles we are talking about here. Secondly, hmm......... I can't think of the second reason. Hehe....

So, all preparations were made including visas, interview at the embassy and researching. Nope, he did not do any researches on LA. He had no time to waste on it.  Therefore, I did some researching. There wasn't much that I could do cuz he wasn't alone in this trip. His decisions were group decisions.

As the days drew nearer, the girls and I were quite apprehensive. There were quite a number of things that I was worried about.
1. His safety
2. I have to chauffeur the girls to school every morning at 7am. What a drag.
3. CNY is close and I have to do some shopping myself. Boring.
4. Kids' homework. Who are we to ask when they need help?
5. Our safety
Well, I can list down a lot of reasons but we can't run away from reality. He had home for LA on 22 January 2016 morning. We miss him a lot.

It is now 31 January 2016, So, what is it like to stay home without Daddy? To be frank, it isn't as bad as I thought. As it is semester break, I practically spend a lot of time at home, which means that I do a lot of spring cleaning to occupy my time. You see,  I have to make sure that the house is in spick and span condition for CNY. What have I done to welcome the lunar new year? First, I sent my car for its 70k service and got a new set of clutch. Now, it speeds like a cheetah. I waxed it too. Secondly, the air-conditioner in the living room is repaired. We can all have a comfortable cooling CNY this year. Phew! The malfunctioned light in the guest room was repaired as well. Thirdly, the piano has been tuned by a pro. I had had a few so called pro tuned my piano but I am most satisfied with this man.

I do a lot of shopping with the girls and my dad too. A new shopping mall has just been set up near to our home - very convenient for shopping and 'makan'. Additionally, I have also spent a lot of time surfing the Internet to find the right stuff the buy in USA. The right bag, The right souvenirs from Universal Studios and Disneyland outlets. The right watch. My husband isn't much of a shopper so I have to tell him what is expected of him or he may come back with half the bag empty. Anyway, so far, he hasn't disappointed me. His extra bag is full and complains about opening some boxes to give space for the merchandises.

He will be back in 3 days' time. Can't wait to welcome him as well as our presents. 

Distractions

Kids nowadays are so easily distracted. That's commonly heard and we parents are scratching our heads over what can we do to stop it or at least minimise distractions. Even though Jerilyn and Jesslyn do not come in contact with the distractors (tablets, tv, food etc...), their minds are not centred to their work. They would stare into the air and God knows what goes on in their heads. 

I am not so worried about Jerilyn. She picks up very quickly and whatever learnt stays in her head. On the other hand, Jesslyn has a memory like a sieve (she must have gotten that gene from me). She forgets what she reads or listens the very next minute. I find that she reads for the sake of reading. She doesn't understand the content. It upsets me cuz a lot of time is wasted repeating the content and making her understand AND REMEMBER them!!!

I don't need them to work day in and day out but it is essential that they remember what they learnt. Once you understand, you don't need to relearn. Jerilyn has that 'gift' but Jesslyn.... 

Speed is also another problem. Jerilyn may have a good memory and her ability to grasp concepts is commendable. However, she can be quite slow with work. As the title suggests, she is easily distracted by her surroundings. I have to nag and nag for them to complete their school work on time. That may take the whole time after school, working til 9-10pm at night. Is there a way to make them work faster? 

What's New

One more day before January comes to an end. It's still counted as new right whatever that is new in 2016.

1. Academic
Well, firstly, Jerilyn  has moved on to Standard 3 while Jesslyn is in Standard 2. As streaming starts at Year 3, Jerilyn has gotten a new group of friends while separated from some close ones. She is happy with this new group as there are less discipline problems being in the top class (top 2 classes as the students are divided by even and odd number in the overall ranking from 1-76). On the whole, she did well, 23 our of 210 students. There are around 40 students in her class. How does the teacher manage the class? Beats me. She is blessed with a not very fierce class teacher too as compared to the other class.

As for Jesslyn, there is no change in terms of teachers and classmates. So, nothing is new. Oh! the venue has changed though. She now has to climb up 1 level to her class. Mind you, the bag is could topple her backwards if not careful. she is only 21kg and her bag is easily 7-8kg. Jerilyn has to climb up 2 levels. To lighten their burden, they have to carry 2 bags. I also see some with 3 bags!!! My, my, my...

2. Interests
a) Music
    Jerilyn sat Grade 1 piano exam last year with distinctions in both Practical and Theory. She requested to skip Grade 2. I don't see the point in stressing her up (and also myself) by taking up every examinations, therefore, I allow her to skip Grade 2. However, the  teacher is preparing her for Grade 3 next year. Hmm... talking about not stressing her?

Jesslyn is learning Grade 1 piano. I find that her teacher is more random than Jerilyn's. Jerilyn's teacher knows what she is doing and more focus. On the other hand, Jesslyn's is giving her materials from all over the place. This means that from easy pieces to difficult pieces. Jesslyn has 4-5 books of different levels!!! I sometimes wish to change the teacher but I don't want to be caught in awkward situations when I see her teacher at the centre. Sigh! Let's give her a chance.

In the meantime, she is also taking ukulele lessons in school. I am quite impressed as she can play a song while singing just after 2 lessons from the instructor. Even more so as there are 10 students in her class.

b) Sports
     Jerilyn plays badminton in school and when we are free, we take her to the club for a swim. She can swim very well. I said very well as I use her friends (boys) as benchmark. She had competed with some of her boy-friends and none could win her. In fact, the boys played cheat. They climbed up from the pool and ran to the end before jumping back into the pool again. Jerilyn is sporty enough not to mind it.Other than that, she seems to be interested in many other sports like taekwando (which I forbid) and basketball (she can dribble for a long time).

Jesslyn, being a princess in the house, is not much of a sportswoman. She plays badminton but not good at it. She can't swim without the float. The sport she likes most is cycling, which we seldom do. It's not that we cycle along with her.  We walk while she cycles.

c) Ballet
    Both learn ballet but for different reasons. Jesslyn is to build her confidence and character (if relevant). Jerilyn is to control her tom-boyishness. Therefore, Jesslyn goes for exams while Jerilyn doesn't. Jesslyn will be sitting for Grade 1 this year.

That's all that is new. 

Year End Performances

Recently, the girls performed at Kinta City for two different occasions. Jesslyn performed for Halloween while Jerilyn played for Christmas.This is their first public performance.

In the first video, Jesslyn played a simple tune from 'Cat at Night'. Although it was a simple tune, I was worried that she might forget some notes or miss a note or two. You see, she skipped a line while reciting a rhyme for a competition in school. Since then, I am always worried that she would forget something in any performances. Fortunately, she managed to pull it through. Phew!

The second video shows Jerilyn on an electone, playing 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'. She had stage fright prior to the performance. She complained about how high the stage was. Hehe.... However, once she was up there, she made us proud. She was one of the few who played on the electone. She loves playing on the electone which has more variety in tone and definitely sounds more 'cool' than the traditional piano. No, she is not taking lessons on electone or keyboard but the teacher thinks that it will be more fun for her to try out electone once in a while. The teacher praised Jerilyn for being able to adapt and exchange between the piano and an electone. Apparently, some students cannot coordinate and follow the beats of the electone.

Tooth Extraction

Jesslyn had her first tooth (bottom middle) removed on 4th May 2015. We were all so relieved when we saw the tooth on her hand. This is why:

We sent her to the dentist last Saturday but we left without paying because the doctor refused to remove it. She was wailing and refused to open her mouth. The young doctor explained to us that he did not want to cause phobia with dentists in the future. He gave some advice and we left with one happy child and three unhappy family members. I was disappointed not only because her tooth wasn't removed. I was disappointed with her scaredy person. She always gets away with difficulties and never takes the courage to solve her problems. Swimming is one example.

Anyway, back home, we asked her to bite an apple everyday and had her wriggle her tooth (actually 2 teeth) with her finger. On Monday night, hubby removed by pulling it out with his bare hand. He used a tissue paper to strengthen his grip. Everyone was joyous about it. One down, another one to go. In fact, this is more urgent because the adult tooth has emerged and it will look ugly if this baby tooth is not removed soon.

So, mission today is to get rid of her 2nd baby tooth. I am going to steam some corn. Tata

Thank You

Jerilyn came back with another one of these notes today. She always get little handmade gifts and Thank You notes like these. I don't know what exactly she does but she seems to be quite a hero in school.

There was once I waited extra few minutes for her to come out from school and when I asked her why was she late, she explained that she had to help a boy packed his bag. At another occasion, she helped another boy searched for his water tumbler. She also helped her friend removed a broken roller from her bag. As for these two notes, she said that she taught them something about studies. I have personally heard her over the phone with yet another friend, explaining patiently about .... what to bring the next day! Although I was happy with her generosity and kindheartedness, I could not help being impatient.

On the one side, I am proud of her angelic personality but I do not wish to see her kindness being abused by her friends. Kids now are no more naive and goody-goody. They are mostly selfish and very streetwise. On the other side, seeing all these beautiful notes, I believe her friends truly appreciate and respects her.
 

Mini Concert

After sending Jerilyn to a nearby music centre for more than a year, I decided to call it quits. Why? Let's just say that I was impatient.

I had been considering what kind of teachers to look for. In the end, I settled for Yamaha Music School. She was enrolled last August (which is about 8 months ago). With private teachers or music centres, they charge at an average RM80 for grade 1. However, YMS charges RM110. Despite the expensive fee, I gave it a try because of one reason. Friend told me that this centre organises concerts every year. Unlike big cities like KL and Penang, there are not many (maybe none) music centres in Ipoh that organises concerts for their students to demonstrate their talents. I think that it could be a fantastic platform for Jerilyn to expose herself to performances and boost her confidence.

Last March 2015, she performed for the first time in public at the centre itself. It was small scale with about 15 performers. She was the third performer and I couldn't deny how proud I was with her. She played two exam pieces very well with no mistakes and appropriate body language to enhance her performance. On the whole, I would give her an A+. You see, prior to the performance, many questions were running across my mind. I was worried about many things. What if she made mistakes she always do at home? What if her body was too stiff or her movement was too fake? What if she chickened out? There were many what ifs.... She herself was anxious about the whole idea since the day she knew about it. Thank God she managed to pull through. Again, I am very proud of her. In fact, another reason for being extra proud is the fact that she was one of the best performers that day. The other two who played very well were in their teens and the rest who were around Jerilyn's age were playing Yamaha 'Grade 1' pieces. If you know Yamaha's syllabus, you should know Yamaha's 'Grade 1' consists of nursery rhymes. There were also a few who hesitated while some made mistakes.

Next, I am waiting for the right time to stop Jesslyn from the current centre and move her to Yamaha. Recently, I found out that it took her 1 year to complete a Beginner's book 1 Theory. With this kind of speed, she will need another 3 years to start doing Grade 1. By then, she would be 9yo? On the other hand,  Jerilyn completed 2 books in half a year. The teacher is preparing to sit for Theory Grade 1 this August. Although you may argue that we learn for interest, not for exams but I believe that slow speed will kill student's interest. It is like learning A, B, C one at a time with a week break in between!

FIrst Day @ School

Don't you like this picture? Isn't it most appropriate for an important day like this where the sun shines on you  and you too, will shine like the sun in school?
Before she joins the primary school, I was worried that it would be difficult to wake her up in the morning as she used to cry even when we woke her up at 8.30 for montessori. However, to my surprise, to this very day (13.3.2015), she has not given any problems when being jolted up at 6.30am. Why? It is a puzzle to me as to you. Her sleeping habits hasn't changed so, it has nothing to do with sleep. Could it be because she likes school? Well, I hope so. Whatever the reason is, I hope she maintains her positive attitude towards school for as long as possible.

This has been her seat since Day 1. I wasn't worried as I thought the teacher would change their places sooner or later, just like what happened to Jerilyn. However, it is different with Jesslyn. She has remained at this seat til this day. According to her, some of her classmates have been asked to exchanges places. Anyway, it isn't all bad news. She says that the last person of every row is selected as the group leader. The job of a group leader is to collect books when necessary and do some errands for teachers.I have always encouraged my girls to be more active in school. It is equally important to learn soft skils and be seen rather than being a bookworm and scoring As without a life.

On the whole, she seems to like it in school (as can be seen in the photo). Two boys were busy wiping their teary eyes with hankies. After scanning the class, I was half relieved that there doesn't seem to have any naughty boys in this class. Those who would pull your skirt up or would push you to the ground.

Blur kid

Guess who is the blur kid here? Bingo - it's Jesslyn. She always makes funny remarks with language. Why is it blur then? It's because she always misunderstands the meanings.

For example, just today, I cut some ciku to be shared. When I told them what it was, Jesslyn quickly replied "Oh, teacher." I was still puzzled by her remark. She continued with "Cikgu mar. It's teacher lor."

She may also get lost in a conversation easily. For example, when the topic is ice-cream, I may ask questions like "Which flavour do you like, Jesslyn?" She may answer "Eat what?"  as if she just joins the conversation. In another example, we could be talking about our experience dining at a particular restaurant. If I ask her "Do you like to go there again, Jesslyn?" Her answer could be "Go where?"

This is how blur Jesslyn is.

Other blur incidents include not completing her homework. You will see question marks on her books occasionally, which you won't find in Jerilyn's books. I don't know if it's blur or just don't care with  her work. Jesslyn doesn't bother to ensure that she finishes everything. What do I mean by incomplete work? One of the most absurd cases would be for instance, instead of writing the whole word 'BIRU', she wrote 'BI'. She may complete half the sentence, half the page and even colour half the car. Thank God I don't have this problem with Jerilyn.

Birthday Celebrations

The past two birthdays (Jerilyn and Jesslyn) have been something to remember about although for different reasons.

We celebrated Jesslyn's 6th birthday at KL Tower last December (2014). The idea was planned in advance. I bumped into a promotion advertised in Groupon. For RM69, the deal includes a tour in its aquarium, entrance to the observation deck and buffet hi-tea in the revolving restaurant. Not sure it is a good deal but I have always wanted to dine in the revolving restaurant with my family. Thus, I bought 5 tickets, including for my dad.  On the whole, the experience was not very welcoming. Firstly, the aquarium tour was too short to last approximately 2 hours wait before we were allowed to dive up the tower to the revolving restaurant. Secondly, we did not have lunch as I did not know that the hi-tea would only open to visitors at 4pm (or was it 5?), on the dot. My dad in particular was famished by the time we had our hi-tea and Jesslyn turned blue. Thirdly, Jesslyn was so shy while the waiters came over to our table to serve the slice of cake (complimentary), rendering a birthday song to the birthday girl. In fact, she was so overwhelmed that she cried. How embarassing! Thank god the surroundings were quite noisy thus, overpowering her voice. She was not the only girl who celebrated birthday that day. The birthday song was sung about 20 over times.

Nevertheless, we had a fulfilling stomach at the end of the day. The buffet selection was good. The new experience of walking around the revolving restaurant and getting lost was something to remember. Other than that, Jerilyn's first tattoo on the face was something she is really proud of. In Malaysia, you hardly see a kid with face painting especially one as daring as this. If you spot one, the chances are it will  be a butterfly or a flower.
In fact, Jerilyn almost made a girl jump when her father pointed to Jerilyn and asked her to get 1 like Jerilyn. Unfortunately, not many people appreciate 'art' this way. Same went with Jesslyn. If I am not wrong, she only allowed the artist to paint a small cartoon on her arm.

The most enjoyable and comfortable experience in this trip was staying in a 75ft executive room at Eastin Hotel in PJ. The room came with 2 toilets ensuite. This was my second visit and has been the best hotel I have ever stayed in.


Turning to Jerilyn's birthday, she turned 8 on 27th January this year. The attention is not on the lavish celebration. We had a simple meal at secret recipe. This birthday is special because I bought her the most expensive birthday gift and the value is not only in the price.  It's a telescope which I bought online from national geographic. I have always wanted to get one telescope. Both of us were very excited. It cost me RM500. She was ecstatic with her new toy. However, til this very day, we have not really made good use of it. Other than peeking at our ceiling (I know that's not what it is meant for), we used it under the sky once after a rainfall. :p

I don't like to spend the night outside, exposing ourselves to robbers and any other dangers. Other than that, I don't fancy staying outside under this humid weather after a bath. What a shame huh! Alright, I promise to allow Jerilyn explore the sky with her telescope soon. :p

Rubik Cube

I have never been a fan of rubik cube simply because I know it's mission impossible for me.

However, I hope my kids (particularly Jerilyn) can do the 'trick'. Jerilyn has always been interested in scientific matters and activities that require logic thinking. Therefore, it is a matter of time before I get her a rubik cube. The day came when she watched a tv programme showing a Chinese player who solved more than 10 cubes in half an hour, blind-folded. Ever since, she nagged and nagged 'til the day I bought her one rubik cube.

I would say that she really has a strong logic thinking (if that is what it takes to solve this puzzle). She managed to solve one side of it after fiddling with it for a day or two. I only showed a short clip on youtube before she solved it for the first time. On the whole, she watched attentively for less than 10 minutes.

It has been a week since it was bought and she still plays with it. Every time solving one side of the cube. As much as I wish to teach her in completing the whole Rubik cube, all I can do is to give her moral support. :D

She also tried to explain the moves, the twists and turns to me but being a sucker in this, I just pretended to listen and nodded my head vigorously while thinking "How can you make sense out of it? There is no logic.", simply incomprehensible.

Maybe one day soon, she will be able to complete the whole cube.

Unexpected Visitor

Jerilyn has a very close friend. Her name - Shirley Teh. When Jerilyn started schooling since Day 1, Shirley had captured my attention. She was the most outstanding student in that class. What did she do? Firstly, she was blinking continuously, I assumed she had an eye problem, wondering if it was contagious. Secondly, she was the most poorly clothed. In this era, you don't often see kids who wear old uniforms especially for Year 1. Her pinafore was quite faded. Thirdly, she was overly excited to play with her sister who was there during the orientation. It was obvious that they have very close relationship. Unlike the other kids, Shirley did not look shy or insecure being in a new environment.

1 year after that, she has become Jerilyn's close friend. Over the year, there have been many extraordinary stories about her which I still find a mystery. You see, I love to analyse people's actions and thoughts. I am quite accurate too at reading people. However, with this little girl. I can't. She is still a mystery to me.

Anyway, few days back, while I was watching my routine 7 o'clock Hong Kong dramas, I heard Jerilyn's name being called from the gate. It was Shirley. Her mother drove her here. Not sure if it's not purpose or pass by. By the way, she exchanged some words with the girls and left.

Yesterday, while bathing I heard her voice again. Screaming for Jerilyn at the top of her lungs. The girls had to dress at top speed or the whole neighbourhood would know Jerilyn's name. So, the girls ran as fast as their legs could carry them to welcome their friend while I quickly clothed myself.

I was surprised to see Shirley in my living room as I walked down the stairs. The mother? She had driven off. I am more surprised that a mother can trust her daughter's friends enough to just leave her at a stranger's door without even a "Hello". I would not allow my kids to her friends' house without exchanging a word or two with their parents.

The girls were very excited with their first visitor. Shirley is their first friend who came over to play (alone). Jesslyn, in particular, showed her around the house; from books to photos. Jesslyn even pointed to the air-cond on the wall. The three of them were chatting like there was no tomorrow. Shirley stayed for 2 hours before her mum picked her up.

I am happy if the girls' friends come over to play or study together once in a while. However, I wish that there are less surprises as we may have our programmes too.

Weight

Jerilyn - 25kg at 8yo. 

Jesslyn - 19kg at 6y2m old.

Extra Curricular Activities

Children nowadays are so pre-occupied with activities. I know many who have to attend tuition 5 days a week, even 7 days! On top of that, they go to different centres according to subjects. Not to mention the distance. The parents do not mind sending their kids kilometres away just so that they get the best tuition. Pity the parents who have to chaperon EVERY DAY!!!

As for myself, I already wishing that Jerilyn can get her own driving license as soon as possible. No. Not tuition but fetching them from school is enough to give me that thought. Other than that, I have to send them for piano classes and ballet lessons. On Tuesdays, Jess attend piano class. On Thursday nights, they have ballet lessons and Jerilyn has piano lessons on Saturdays. In comparison to other mothers, I am the lucky one. 

In school, the girls are quite active. They are both interested in badminton and arts. However, arts have to be sacrificed as they have recently joined Mathematical Olympiad classes. I encourage them to join activities to widen their social network and learn actively, not passively. 

Do they miss anything for not taking tuition? Maybe. I am sure they will do much better academically (if education is about As) if they were to have extra Mandarin lessons. In addition, imagine all the extra time I have for myself instead of nagging them to do extra work at home. The house will be more peaceful too. 

Sarcasm

As we have heard on many occasions, kids in the 21st century are not similar to what we were. Kids now are more out-spoken; they know what they want and they do as they like. No more are the kids who never question their parents or answer their parents back when reprimanded. We never demand. We merely accept.

For instance, Jesslyn is one of those who expects her wishes to be fulfilled or you will be condemned. She does not accept "No" for an answer. She always have her reasons for doing whatever it was. For example, "Jesslyn please share with your sister." Her answer could be "But I want to play with it." To her, that reason is good enough to get it her way. When something goes wrong, it is always not her fault. Anyone but her. For example, why didn't she do her homework? Her answer could be "Cause you did not ask me to." She uses threats if she did not get the attn she required. "Mummy, if you don't teach me I will simply do the work." She demands equal rights. "Mummy, why didn't you give me an angpow like Jie2? This is not fair."

Jerilyn, on the other hand, is a straight-forward person who doesn't play tricks. She is more understanding and tolerant of others. She doesn't demand unreasonably. She doesn't blame. She emphatises. Her only problem is she doesn't speak her mind enough. She is not expressive  as Jesslyn. This results in me not knowing what is on her mind sometimes.

I sometimes wonder why do I have such different kids. Do you feel the same?

Schooling Girls (Jerilyn)

It's unbelievable that this day has arrived - the day for me to write about the girls (both) going to school. The past 6 years have been a dream. Year after year past by without pausing to actually watch how they have grown from a baby into young ladies. So, back to the topic. In terms of attitude, both are very excited about school.

Jerilyn was more disciplined and serious about studying. In fact, she takes everything seriously. Listens attentively in class, follows instructions closely, never misses any homework. There were a couple of times she freaked out because she misplaced her books. She would start bawling over her missing books even before she searched for them. Her exaggerated anxiety annoyed me and it was useless explaining to her. She just simply concluded that her book was lost and she would be punished. In the whole year, she was punished once at the beginning of the school term. The teacher punished those who did not wrap their books. Four from her class were caned on the palm. That was her first experience of punishment and the last that year.

Teachers have regards of her. I have spoken to some of her teachers and all of them praised her for being responsible and pro-activeness. Her English teacher, Mdm Wong complimented her as she alerted the teacher about a mistake in the activity book. Her class teacher, Ms Khor commented that she concerns about what happens around the class. If other students misbehave, Jerilyn would alert the teacher. I was wondering if that was a compliment or otherwise. I mean, if I were her classmate, I would not want a friend who reports me to the teacher if I misbehave.

Academically, she had done very well considering she did not attend any extra classes a.k.a tuition classes. Out of 210 Std 1 students, she ranked 30 on average. Her average marks were between 93 and 95. I found that Mandarin determines one's ranking if two or more students obtain the same accumulated marks.

She joined two competitions last year. 1) English Recitation 2) Maths Competition. She did not get any prize in the English competition which I believe was due to her uninteresting voice. Jerilyn has quite a flat voice. However, she came in 1st in the Maths competition among her classmates of 30 students. She was proud to receive her first trophy which came with a cert. I also notice that nowadays, schools are very generous with trophies and many competitions.

This is the summary of Jerilyn's first year in school.  I may include more details when memory strikes. 

2 years Break

After 2 long years, here I am, figuring what to write and where to start. Let's start with what have I been doing during the past two years? Well, to summarise, I was stuck with postgraduate studies and thank God, I completed the course within the time-frame without any glitches. Officially graduated with Master in Education in August. Fortunately, the ceremony coincides with my dad's birthday so it was a double celebration.

So, what is next? PhD? Despite pressures from the management, I simply do not have the motivation to go on another step. During the past two years, I have lost some precious time to be with the kids and definitely lost lots of hair from the late nights to meet datelines. I am not going to spend another few years dropping more hair and sacrificing my girls until they are ready as well as I am.  

Kidzania Trip @ October 2012

Thanks to free tickets from a good friend, we went to Kidzania for only RM35. Without the tickets, it would cost us at least RM125 extra.

Kidzania is one of the newest craze in town, where kids have the opportunity to try out the various occupations under one roof. We chose a public holiday to try out this new place. It was a bad move. Being a new thing and public holiday, you can just imagine the crowd.

The first station was the bank. Kids have to cash in some money to play. Jesslyn was wailing as she queued at the counter. How embarassing.
After that, we were so overwhelmed by the crowd and tried to find a station where the queue wasn't that long. One of the stations was the court. We persuaded Jerilyn to experience the court atmosphere. Because of her age (5yo), the person-in-charge tested her language proficiency. She managed to pull it through. She went in with a few older girls, some in their teens. Each kid had to play a role  - judge, lawyer, the accused, prosecutor etc...


lined up at the police station.. but had to wait more than half an hour.
wanted to make choc at the choc factory but they are too young. all the intersting stations had long bee lines. so, we chose those with short or even no lines at all. :p

1st Enid Blyton book

Jerilyn's first Enid Blyton collection. I had a hard time choosing an interesting one from the vast collection. Finally, the word ENCHANTED caught my attention. I remember liking Enid Blyton's Enchanted books, so I settled for this.

Just like anything new, she loved it and read a few pages. I asked if she understands the story. She replied "No. But I can read."

Random

Jerilyn's 5y 2m old

Jesslyn's work - 3y 3m old

This is what happens when she wants independence and authority

trying out new pose

Not pretty

After experiencing a few occasions where people tease and play with Jesslyn, Jerilyn begins to feel conscious of how she looks. She tells me that she is not pretty. When I deny it, she says "I know. I am not pretty." She has always wanted to keep long hair, just like her friend. But how can she when she sweats so easily! Even the length now looks messy when she sweats.