It’s So Hazy, I Cannot Hear!

25 Jun

I just had to write about this topic and make light of the suffocating situation.

The last time we had the haze so bad was 1997 (as officially reported) but I don’t recall, probably I had my hands full with the arrival of M1 that year. Subsequently, the haze occurred every now and then, typically during the hot months from April to August, but I think it wasn’t this bad.

This year’s haze is one mighty superstrong particle-ladened one that a friend suspects it’s the culprit triggering her home smoke alarm two nights’ ago. It’s causing a lot of discomfort, reducing visibility and hearing capability, as least for me. I am all congested with my nose and ears blocked and breathing becomes very energy sapping. I cannot hear in this clogged state of mind. Both M1 and M2 are very amused by the blocked ears.

They’d start mumbling or stringing a sentence very quickly; then say something out loud, as if testing my hearing ability. Sadly, each time I fail. The conclusion: I can only hear sentences made up with three words, no more than that. Darn this bloody haze.

 

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There’s Nothing to Eat in the House

24 Jun

I get this all the time when they come home from school. A phone call, a complaint and a sigh. It amazes me when there is bread on the counter, ice cream in the fridge and dinner being prepared (by the maid), I am told by M2 there is nothing to eat!

After I pointed out all the obvious, she listed the specifics: junk food, munchies and snacks for the between meal occasions. Ahh… Those are food, right!

Bread is not a snack, it’s a breakfast food; ice cream is dessert and one does not eat dessert before dinner and dinner is, well, dinner.

I cannot win. Double sigh.

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It’s So Peaceful

23 Jun

Every year, for the last several years, I would come down with a bad case of laryngitis. And the weird thing is, it is always around April. What’s even more scary is the date on when it happened, on the same date for two consecutive years! Last year, even my doctor was amazed that I saw her on the same date for consultation!

Coincidental or not, the kids love it! Because mummy is rendered speechless, literally. There are no naggings to finish up the homework or to pick up clothes strewn on the floor. And the best part, I would be in bed before their bedtime and they get to stay up to catch another Cartoon Network show before winding down.

This year, although I was not rendered totally speechless, it was enough to be irritating. I am constantly reminded not to talk too much to save my strength. The annual peace in the house prevails.

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Captain Underpants Strikes Again!

21 Jun

Captain Underpants seems to be a more revered superhero than say, Spiderman or Superman, although at one point, there were several sets of Spidey pyjamas in the wardrobe. Thank goodness only M2 reads the Underpants series.

It was the good Captain’s influence that this incident happened.

One night M2 wanted to pull a prank on M1 by placing two folded packets of ketchup under the toilet seat. Thinking that M1 will use the bathroom at midnight, she thought it was a brilliant prank!

But hubby made M2 use the bathroom instead. You could say the hubby was not amused when two little explosions went off!

I did not find out about this little backfired prank until much much later.

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Secretly I Am Pleased

21 Jun

Early this week, I called home from the office and spoke to an enthusiastic M1. “Hi mummy! Guess my History marks?” M1 enthused.

“Hmm. 84?” “No. Out of 100. Guess!”

“Err… 78?”

“Mummy! Out of 100!” she chided me.

“94? I dunno… Tell me,” I gave up.

“100, mummy! I scored 100 for my History!” beamed a happy M1.

Wow. What a brilliant child my M1. I beamed with happiness too.

The Scream

20 Jun

Ahh… ‘The Scream’. Everybody knows ‘The Scream’. It may be an iconic and celebrated piece of art in Art History by Norwegian Edvard Munch, regarded as a pioneer in Expressionism, my favorite is still Claude Monet, the French Impressionist.

While I always instill artistic and design skills in both M1 and M2, I never shared much Art History with them. I didn’t think they would be interested.

During the pre-iPad years, I was caught by surprise when M2 showed me her version of ‘The Scream’.

 

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M2’s version of ‘The Scream’

Then both girls would slap their ears, roll their eyes and pretend to scream before breaking out in contagious laughter. It’s a scream to watch them do this whenever the piece of art is sketched out in the car.

 

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During the Spongebob Years…

20 Jun

Before the Captain Underpants years, it was Spongebob Squarepants. Everything was about Spongebob, his starfish buddy, Patrick Star, Squidward and the whole gang at Bikini Bottom.

I used to tell M2 that since my dad, her grandfather’s name is Patrick, he could have been Patrick Star and I could have been Angie Star, instead of Angie Lee.

She believed me. Heheheh…

(M1 was much older, so I couldn’t pull it off on her.)

What a star!

What a star!

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The Magna Doodle and the Wedding Dinner

20 Jun

Sit down Chinese wedding dinners are always a sumptuous and long affair. They give speeches, they present the food with much fanfare and they overfeed you. But sit down Chinese wedding dinners with a toddler in tow is a different matter. All those things become irrelevant, in that two to three hours or so, when you are busy minding the child to behave.

Many many moons ago when my schoolmate, Vivien, was getting married, we brought M1 along, a toddler then. It was her first sit down 8-course dinner. We had to be prepared in case there was resistance. So, all forms of entertainment was brought along: toy, book, Magna Doodle, etc.

We took our time to settle down at the table. The Magna Doodle was whipped out first and immediately, there was action. M1 was furiously poking at the surface. Curious, I looked over and asked, “What are you drawing?”

“Holes, mummy, I am drawing holes!” and proudly lifted up the Doodle to show me. How clever is that? Drawing holes. Even I have never drawn holes before!

All in all, we had a good sit down dinner experience as M1 thoroughly enjoyed the food with a discipline level that was totally amazing. Not once she fidgeted nor wanted to leave the high chair. The Doodle was spared further pokes while the rest of the tools were really quite unnecessary.

It made us looked forward to more wedding dinners then!

Before the birth of the iPad and iPod, we used to bring the Magna Doodle along whenever we go out for meals. Great tool to occupy the wondering minds and highly recommended for little ones!

 

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Can I Have a Camera?

19 Jun

Sometime early last year, M2 wrangled a camera from the hubby. Said she wanted to pursue photography and he obliged. He bought a decent three hundred Ringgit digital camera but sold it to her because since there were no exams and no targets to meet, one cannot simply be rewarded.

Undaunted, she whipped out the amount – saved tediously from all her weekly school allowance – and handed over the cash.

And so the photography craze began. There were pictures of mostly Rooney, her pet frog then, some drawings, the other pets and mundane stuff.

However, time passed and life caught up with homework and school assignments and the photography interest waned.

One day, hubby asked, “So how’s the camera? Any good pictures?” Silence. Then, “I stopped taking pictures. Can I sell the camera back to you?”

“Sell the camera back to me? Hmm. How much?” queried the hubby.

“Three hundred Ringgit,” M2 stated confidently.

“What?! Same price as you bought from me? You can’t do that. It is a used item now and should be cheaper,” argued the hubby.

“No. Now it comes loaded with pictures! So there’s value to it.”

Defeated, the hubby paid for the camera, value-added with an SD card loaded with pictures of Rooney, M2’s pet frog, her drawings, the other pets and mundane stuff.

Chortle….

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The Race is On!

19 Jun

At the start of this year, M1 challenged me to a race – to read 30 books by the end of the year! “Sure!” I said, after all I had a headstart, having completed ‘The Bride Quartet’ by Nora Roberts and a collection of more titles by her awaits me.

When M2 learnt about the challenge, she quipped, “Mummy, I wanna join the race but the books I ordered from Scholastics (at school) have not arrived. Can we go to the bookstore instead because I am so behind!”

You can tell my girls love to read.

Four months into the challenge, I made a wrong move as I picked up ‘Pompeii’ from a book fair as my book number eight. Let’s just say if the race was about the Candy Crush Saga, I’d win hands down.

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