No More Eggs?

Hubby-jr’s obsession with Baby M jogged to memory a conversation we had a few months ago.

One fateful night during their (my kiddos) nightly prayer, I asked Hubby-jr to pray that God would bless someone close to us with a baby.

Never in a million years would I have thought such a request would take an unexpected turn.

“How about you mommy? Do you want to have another baby?” asked Hubby-jr earnestly.

Holy smokes, where did that come from?! After blinking for seconds, I just had to clarify,

“You want mommy to have another baby?”

Hubby-jr nodded somewhat too eagerly for my liking, and looked at me with such hopeful eyes too. I looked to hubby hoping he’d interject right then to save me but dear ol’ daddy-o was just sitting there with ‘I-can’t-wait-to-see-what-she-says’ look on his face! Plus I was half suspecting that he hoped my son would nudge me into a certain direction.

“Would you want a di-di (little brother) or mei-mei (little sister)?”

I asked just to check if he really understood the implication of me having another baby. Hoping that he’d realise he wouldn’t want another sibling in the family.

BUT I was wrong,

“Di-di!” he replied enthusiastically.

Sigh. I had to let him down gently. So I said,

“I’m sorry darling but mommy is not going to have anymore babies.”

I We I We decided that we’d stop at two, children, having children that is. Well it was more of, I decided and hubby went along with my decision but he’d be more than happy if I decided otherwise.

I thought that would end the discussion but no. Hubby-jr then asked,

“Mommy, is it because you have no more eggs inside of you?”

What?! My dear son stumped me for the second time that night. Eggs in me? How did he know? Was it from our previous conversations? I could only remember this episode. Anyway, I said,

“No, I still have eggs but I’m not going to have another baby. The egg will only become a seed or baby when…, when…”

“Mommy and I decided we’re not having anymore babies. So we are just not going to have another baby, ok? But we are very blessed to have you and mei-mei and we love you both very much. Now can you please say pray?” Hubby finally saved me. Phew! That was close. Way too close.

But just so you know, I’ve since revisited the baby making thingy with my son. I just read him the book “Amazing You!: Getting Smart About Your Private Parts”, again and realised that was where he learnt about eggs. Here’s an excerpt from the book.

When a man and a woman love each other (I added, “they get married”) and decide that they want to have a baby, a man’s sperm joins with a woman’s egg. From the egg and sperm, a baby will grow.

And that is that. And somehow that was (is?) enough to satisfy Hubby-jr’s curiousity (actually he was more curious about the other stuff in the book). AND (last but not least) he has NOT asked me for another baby since. PHEW!

Master

Now that Hubby-jr talks a whole lot more we’ve had some pretty interesting conversations. Here’s one of them.

“Am I your master?” Hubby-jr asked.

“No! Jesus is my master.” I answered frowning. What gall?! As I wondered how my son came to harbour such notions of grandeur. Huff.

“Jesus is my master too,” said my son and I warmed up with a smile but was still a little puzzled.

He proceeded to ask, “am I Master Tan?” (His surname is Tan)

Aaahhhh… a big grin formed across my face as the light bulb switched on in my head. His current favourite DVD movie then (a few weeks ago) was Kungfu Panda. And in that show there is the character, Master Shifu who is Kungfu Panda’s master.

“Yes, you are Master Tan.” It is the culture here to address little boys, Master and little girls, Miss.

I continued to elaborate, “you are Master Tan just like daddy is Mister Tan but that doesn’t make you my master. That is a different meaning of master…”

But I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew he had stumbled upon the truth, that he and his little sister are my “masters”. The ones I serve and labour for. Everyday.

Tentacles?

“Do I have tentacles?” asked Hubby-jr two days ago while we were reading a book on ocean life together.

“Tentacles? No, you don’t.” I replied.

“Are these tentacles?” he persisted, reaching for his pants near his “you know where”.

“NO! That’s your penis. That’s NOT a tentacle. Jellyfish have tentacles like these (I pointed to the picture in the book), boys or people for the matter do not have tentacles.”

I was really baffled but the next question blew me away.

“Do I have tentacles in my… (he paused to search for the right word) scrotum?” (Thank hubby for the detailed anatomy lessons during night showers.)

Huh? What?!? I honestly had no clue whatsoever (at that time) as to where all his questions were coming from. (Do you get it yet? Or are you just as blur as I was?)

“No, you do not have tentacles in your scrotum!” I replied aghast and steered the conversation away and scooted him off for a short afternoon nap.

That evening just before Hubby-jr’s night shower, as I was relating the story to hubby, it finally struck me. I turned to my son and said…

“You have TES-TI-cles, not TEN-TA-cles.”

Why Humpty Dumpty Fell

Little Missy loves and I really mean L-O-V-E school (playgroup to us, school to her. She likes to be “grown up”). Right from day one. She did not shed a single tear when I left her on her own on day two. AND, every morning she’s ready way before it is time for school. YES, the absolute opposite experience with my no.1 Hubby-jr.

So since starting playgroup, oops, I mean school, she loves to break out in songs whenever she feels like it. There was once she sang the ABC song on top of her lungs in the MRT (subway?) for about 15 minutes! Nope, she didn’t get it right either but that was no deterrent. Thankfully she’s at an adorable age and really cute so we didn’t get any killer glares.

One night, last week, she decided to belt out Humpty Dumpty (with daddy’s help). This time in a car. After singing the song two times she felt compelled to explain to us…

“Humpty Dumpty didn’t sit properly so Humpty Dumpty fall down. Ouch. Must Rub (she rubs back of  her head). Pain!”

Ah-Ha, so I see… and to think all these years, never once did I ponder or knew why Humpty Dumpty fell.

More Interesting Sites For Kids

Hello, today I’m sharing with you two interesting websites that I came across not too long ago. 

1) PEEP and the Big Wide World.

PEEP is actually an animated show that teaches science to preschoolers with characters that are cute and funny. We’ve never watched any of the shows before but we absolutely love their website.  There is a different show online everyday and quite a number of interesting games. All of which introduces (indirectly) science concepts to little ones between 3-5 years of age.

2) Do2Learn.

This is more of a website with educational resources targeting special needs. There are free areas where you can access games which are useful in language building and other areas such as social and motor skills development.

That’s all for now. I hope your kids enjoy PEEP as much as mine!

A New Year, A New Era

In December last year…

I packed away Little Missy’s playpen, the one she has slept in since she was born. The same one Hubby-jr slept in. Little Missy now has her own bed. Unlike my firstborn, she was so thrilled to finally have her own bed, just like kor-kor (big brother in Cantonese).

I packed away a sturdy stroller/pram. The wheels are so worn out, they have “smoothened” out. The stroller has well served its life. Both my kids used it from the day they were born. We had endless walks, shopping trips, visits to the  playground, visits to playdates with it. Now my kids walk with me. I still have a lightweight stroller for longer outings such as going to the zoo. But we’d probably give that away in a year’s time.

I packed away lots of baby toys too.

Way before December, I packed away milk bottles, baby monitor and gave away lots of baby clothes, shoes and stuff.

Babydom is over. Finito. Sigh.

At the turn of the year, my dear Little Missy started playgroup. Her first tiny step into the world of “formal” education. 

A new era is here.

AND as if I needed this fact to be hammered into my thick skull, my firstborn, Hubby-jr, dropped his first milk tooth a day after New Year’s! He is only 5 and half! He did not fall or got hit, his bottom front tooth just loosened and fell. For some strange reason, he was absolutely thrilled!

I on the other hand was far from thrilled. This my friends, to me marks the coming of the end of his preschool years. Next year, sniff, my once upon a time baby son is entering primary (junior) school. Yikes. But I still have one more year to get there… ONE whole year. I’ll cross that bridge then. And ONLY then.

And this is a…

Hubby-jr is much less resistent to writing and drawing these days. In fact there are days (note: plural, more than one) where he seems to (gasp) enjoy it!

Last Sunday was one of those days. He was doodling away during Sunday Service at our church. (He prefers to sit with us at the service rather than attend Sunday School and we let him.) He was drawing his usual train stuff and then, quite out of character of him, he drew a stick man.

Immediately after that he drew another and just when I thought he was done he added two thingies on the head.

My first thoughts were… oh, it must an alien or some cartoon character I couldn’t figure out. So, naturally I asked my dear son what it was AND he said… “that’s a girl.” Hubby and I went into a mini, silent giggling fit (a sermon was being preached).

Well apparently this is how the little man of my life pictures girls… or at least thinks it is how they should be depicted… with two antennas… oops, I mean pigtails!

 

P/S: If you’re wondering, drawing, writing and especially colouring are still WAA…AY down the chart of his favourite things to do, if they are on the list at all. However if he had a very general list, I think they’re probably just one step ahead of eating vegetables!

I’m Watching You Dad

I just saw this on my friend’s blog and I had to post it here. Fathers, this one’s for you.

Birth Order Personality Traits

Did you know birth order affects all aspects of a child’s personality? Well according to psychologists it surely does. A child’s (and even yours) personality is affected by whether he/she is the first born, middle child, only child or the youngest in family.

First borns tend to be natural leaders. They also tend to be reliable, conscientious and perfectionists who don’t like surprises. Although, firstborns are typically aggressive, many are also compliant people pleasers. They are model children who have a strong need for approval from anyone in charge. 

Middle children can usually read people well, they are peacemakers who see all sides of a situation, they are independent and inventive. If a firstborn is a company’s CEO, the middle child is the entrepreneur. 

Only children are firstborns in triplicate. They are even more responsible and even bigger perfectionists. They usually get along better with people older than themselves. 

Last Borns are social and outgoing, they are the most financially irresponsible of all birth orders. They just want to have a good time. 

I’ve “heard” about this before and recently I discovered this article. By the way the article is dated 2002! Talk about old news eh? Oh well, if you’ve not read about it yet, it is rather interesting. The psychologists even have a brief guide on how to parent kids by their birth order. 

It has given me some insights to my children especially Hubby-jr, the first born personality fits him like a glove. I’ve to go a little easier on him and be aware of not giving him too much pressure AND affirming him whenever befitting.

My no.2, Little Missy, is definitely more social and outgoing and yeah, she sure knows how to have a good time. I’m working hard on keeping her from becoming a spoilt brat (she’s TWO plus, so it can be tough going at times…) Can you imagine I’ve already had many “arguments” with her? Sigh. (Yup, no speech delay in this fiesty, strong willed one. PHE-EW and SIGH. We can never have it all, can we?)

What about your children? Do they exhibit these personality traits according to their birth order?

Staying awake, staying awake

One fateful afternoon, Hubby-jr refused to nap even though he was tired. So when it came to dinner he could hardly keep his eyes open. We (hubby and I) were NOT happy and he knew it.

Uh-oh, I’m in serious trouble. I must stay awake, I must stay awake, I must stay awake. Thinketh my first born as he struggled to eat his dinner.

Can you see how he’s lifting his eyebrows in an effort to stay awake?

I almost choked trying not to laugh out loud. In which I failed miserably. NO, I did NOT choke but I did laugh out (very) loudly. After which I felt (guilty) sorry for my poor boy and rescued him by getting him to talk about his current favourite movie, Wall-E. It worked. He perked up almost instantly and was able to complete his dinner.

The near death punishment experience was not lost on him. He has napped faithfully (when he is tired) ever since. The End.