Don’t Talk to Us

27 Jun

When I was young, going to Singapore with my parents by car was always a happy occasion. Singapore! Grandma! Shopping! Yay. But the 7-hour journey was never looked forward to, too long an ordeal. The main PLUS highway was not constructed then to ease traffic traveling South.

Nonetheless, my brother and I would play ‘Spot the car number plate’ games or read books to keep ourselves entertained. After all, during the dinosaur era, there was no such thing as the iPod, iPad, what more smartphones and the radio stations then were hardly hip and happening.

Fast forward to now. Whenever we travel outstation, a good three to five hours’ drive depending on destination, the girls will be equipped with the iPod, iPad, phone, books and headphones. And they always tell me, “Mummy, don’t talk to us, we can’t hear you. If you need to, wave your hands, ok?”

Hrmph.

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Facing the Music

26 Jun

Both M1 and M2 plays guitar which is nice. Nights when I come home tired and brain-drained, a little impromptu live duet entertainment can be very soothing along with that big glass of wine.

Typical of learning an instrument and to advance, they have music exams to overcome. And while M1 was outwardly cool about it, M2 showed her frazzled nerves. “Butterflies in your tummy?” the hubby asked. “No. It feels like cockcroaches,” she replied forlornly.

Thankfully both survived the ordeal and passed with flying colors.

Really?? Real-lee!!!

25 Jun

The hubby likes to poke fun at my last name every now and then. He would say the silliest things out of the blue in his attempt to coin up words that describes an action, situation or thing and join it with my last name, Lee.

Towards the end of last week, for instance, I told him that the current haze situation is making me very nasal. And he’d go, “You mean ‘Nasal-lee’?” Hardy-har-har…

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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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