Totally forgotten about it until I started downloading pictures from my phone.  Took it the day when I went to JS’s school for PTM. Regretted never bring camera, else will be able to snap better pictures of her work pasted on the wall of fame in her classroom.

There weren’t many works from the students there, but JS’s has got three of her works on display. Not too bad.

Something I want to note down is also the teacher’s remark. He said ” Unless some of the very good students that look down on friends that is not doing very well, JS is very willing to help the other students”

I am beaming with pride.  She is not in the top ten of her class, she is not even at the first 100 of the whole standard 2. She is just an average (with all 80 over and 90 marks) but what is important is having the right attitude.

Well done, JS.

Today is JS’s school PTM. To me PTM or not, it does not matter, I am not eager to get the report card to know her placing. I am not eager to find out what the teacher has to say. I know my child very well, I know her study style, I know her strength and weaknesses. I do not know to go ask the teacher how to make her be a top scorer or how to teach my child, I have my own way that suits her style.

It was brief, I took the report card and I left. I told the teacher that I am not concern about her marks, as long as she has the right attitude in learning, the teacher said I am a rare parent. I also told him that JS is not attending any tuition, which he looked at me in surprise. I case it shows that I am yet another rare species.

The wait however was long. My allocated time was 3, I went slightly early and waited for one hour.  There are other parents queuing, Seems that their chat topic is never out of how their child performs, the marks, tuition etc. I am not keen to join, I don’t want to mention my child’s mark, and I don’t want to compare. It’s not that my child is not good at all, but I think it is meaningless. What I did was to mingle with JS’s friend, talk to them and make friends with them.

My children’s friend know that I am one that can be playful with, both JS’s and WH’s friends talk to me in a very friendly manner, they can even play with me.

I like this teacher of JS. So sensible.

Before the school holiday, there was a singing competition, unfortunately JS’s class did not win. Today, she said her BM teacher made a card for all the participants. She was in cloud nine. The teacher also said a lot of encouraging words to them.

Just a simple card, but it meant so much to little children. It shows how thoughtful and sensible the teacher is.

Recently we went to Penang for our family vacation (including extended family of ILs). We were having dinner at a Chinese restaurant the second night.  SIL #1 started ordering the restaurant specialties. Two of the dishes (the crab and fish) which the children like came up to have shredded chillies in it. The children obviously can’t take it after the first bite.

After the first dish with chili, MIL already appeared unhappy. Then the 2nd dish with chili came and she spotted the chili. She straight away scold the waitress who serve the dish. She scolded “Why so STUPID, put chili on it, don’t you see got children here, food is for them”

Throughout dinner, her face was blackened and she keeps mumbling (still loud enough to be heard), idiot, stupid etc

I don’t understand why she needs to say such a thing. After all, the children needs to learn to adapt. We can’t blame the restaurant, the food we get in KL might not be the same when in Penang. That’s their style of cooking, why want to blame the cook. Besides that, the person who takes the order, the one that cooks in the kitchen and the one serving are totally different person, why say such harsh words to the waitress.

They are many more incidents like this. The reason why I hate going out with my MIL and SIL#1 is their attitude. They often think they are so superior and right and don’t treat people humbly and with humanity. And of course I also worried that my children will pick up all these bad attitude after them. So I really dislike it when we have to spend so much time with the in laws. The good thing is that my MIL doesn’t babysit my children.

I don’t want to rant about my IL in my blog and I don’t want to appear to be ungrateful to my IL, showing disrespect to my PIL. But my tolerance level really has a limit. Especially with my MIL, I don’t know how to puts in her, she just made me mad.

My maid dropped a bomb to me this morning saying that she doesn’t want to work anymore and that she wants me to let her go ASAP. Asked her the reason why, she said she couldn’t take my MIL anymore. My MIL is someone that is capable on putting mental torture into someone she dislikes.

We have just renewed the maid’s work contract for another year and here she said she wants to leave. I cannot imagine having four kids without a maid where baby is still so young.

Two days ago, I was on an emotional downside and at that moment I so wanted to return to workforce and now without the maid, I will have to handle the household and the kids all by myself.

I am angry with MIL, angry with her unreasonable, angry with her picking needles in hay attitude, I am angry with her always want to curse people she dislike attitude.

She can’t possibly help me with babysitting the children, no, her health makes her incapable on carrying and tending  the children.  She never think of all the inconvenience that she would bring us and she just want to make a havoc in our life for her own pleasure.

Help me…I want to pick up the phone and scream at her. I am cursing in my heart too. How long more do I have to deal with her.

She is not even staying with us under the same roof and yet capable to cause chaos in the family.

School holidays ending soon. I wish the holiday could stay. The children had so much fun playing the whole two weeks, we literally left all the books behind, no academic work at all. It was a fun filled two weeks for us.

I wonder if the trend of having big family is back, especially for the Chinese community. During the 80’s, 90’s, it is not uncommon for Chinese family to have a small family with usually just one or two offspring. Of late, one can easily see a family with three children and even 4 like mine is fairly common. I even know of one who has 7, another 6, and another friend who is expecting the 5th. I can’t imagine myself going through another pregnancy, having to take prenexa daily and looking fat again. I told hub, he better go do something. I can’t bear going through another pregnancy.

It’s hard feeding the prince and princesses. Each of them has their own preferences and liking. Sometimes I wonder if I am too lenient to cater to their demand until they take things for granted.

For example, last night , after WH saw the food on the table, he said “Mummy, why the same same food again. I am bored. Can’t you cook something different??”

I told him to be grateful, at least we have food served on the table. 3 dishes and one soup , some more I steamed an expensive fish last night.

But deep in my heart, I feel guilt. Guilt of not been adventurous in the kitchen. For two years, ever since we shifted from Seremban, ever since hub got his new jobs and rarely comes home for dinner, I have stopped being adventurous in the kitchen. In fact I have let the maid take charge, since she had learned enough dishes to rotate around the week. (Imagine, week after week, we have the same style of food). There’s just so much to do and so little time, since hub doesn’t come home for dinner, since the kids are so fussy, cooking has become the least priority in my list.

Last night , the children flipped through all the cookbook collection and drool over the pages. They plead “mummy, can you cook this, can you cook this” pointing to each pictures. I can only replied , “this one got such such such ingredients, are you sure you are going to eat?” My worst fear is that after I have put in all the hard work and they reject the food simply because there’s some ingredient which they do not eat. That will be a waste. More over, I am on a diet, I do not want to be a “bandaraya” to clear up the food I have cooked and they don’t eat.

Another incident. Last night, JS told me she wanted to bring pancake to school for snack. I told her I have run out of the basic ingredients. She told me to get up early this morning to buy. This morning I couldn’t wake up early. (School holiday..being lazy, woke up at 4.30 tended to her which suddenly had a very bad bout of cough, nurse baby to sleep at 6 a.m) , I only managed to wake up at 9.30a.m. After settling everyone, I told her , can I just make french toast instead of pancake. She pouted her lips and insist on having pancake. So this slave mummy, though grumbling but still couldn’t face the unhappiness of her child, drove out to buy the ingredients, manage to make the pancake, packed into the bento box just in time.

Am I over doing it? Just because my kids pout , I will go or at least try to go the extra mile to please them. Am I spoiling them? Am I teaching the wrong value of not being grateful with what we already have? But as a mother, I will also get worried if they don’t eat, we go the extra mile to cook something that they will eat and find joy in watching them gulping down the food. And their complimented like “Mummy, you are the best cook (even though the food just tasted so so). This food is nice. I love you so much. Thank you for cooking something special today” just make me fly into cloud nine.

JS is trying to get her classmates to set up FB account. The other day, I received a call on my handphone from one of her classmates asking “how to”

I just hope that her friends won’t get hook up on FB games and neglected their studies, else JS will become the culprit. I hope the parents won’t come after her.

As a big brother to JL, WH tends to show authorization on his little sister.  It is good as he is trying to show the sister what is right and wrong. But the problem is that his way/approach of showing authorization tends to upset JL a lot. He can going on harping on the same matter and wouldn’t want to give way and the little sister does not want to listen to him at all. The more he harps on the matter, the more furious JL will be and she tends to get physical and violent by throwing things, beating, pinching/pouncing on her brother. It always ended with both crying and WH feeling very hurt.

I still have yet to find the best solution. Is it right to tell WH not to bother about his sister and leave her alone? But he is playing his role as a big brother, it doesn’t seems fair or make sense to ask him to give way when what he wants to do is to show his sister the right way.  I don’t like seeing WH feeling hurts. He already feels so left out at home when the girls play together, so often he complained that the sisters don’t friend her etc. I don’t know how to teach JL to show respect to her brother and be more obedient to her brother.