Toy Train Museum

One of AN's Gymboreemate's mummy invited us to join them on an 'excursion' to the Toy Train Museum yesterday (Sun). It was better than I imagined the museum to be! It was nothing like a museum but the collection was enough to impress us and most importantly, AN. She enjoyed watching those toy trains and couldn't bear to leave. They do not open often (only two Sundays this month and every other months). Trains were miniature models of real ones, put together by, I don't know, train fanatics? Ken's (one of AN's gymboreemate) dad told Mr Liow one can pay to become a member and put his pride on display for others to appreciate. Those should be what we were admiring that day.

Picture time!

Commuters waiting for train

Compare the model to the human 'behind the scene'


Panorama view of a madeup town

I took AN out to change her diapers and she kept nagging to go back in (she suspected that was the end of the tour). Mr Liow came out before I was done and said there was nothing much else left (in mandarin). AN probably saw her fears come true and started repeating "Mummy we go back to see train ok?" and got increasingly panicky when I didn't reply (I was asking Mr Liow why suddenly decide to leave). We went back in anyway, coz AN wasn't prepared to leave. I couldn't bear to leave either, especially when AN's so into train watching!

AN waiting for the train to make it back to this side of the track. She was very obedient and kept her promise to leave without arguing to stay when Mr Liow agreed to go back in after diaper changing :)

Mild Tempered or Unable to Reject

AN used to have a few jie jies who will play with her during gatherings and take really good care of her. Two have gone back to Singapore and only Kimberly is left. There are now new jie jies who enjoy playing with her just as much but it could be due to the age differences, one jie jie was a little too insistent on having AN pretend to be sick and wrapped her with towel before tucking her in bed under a thick blanket. I didn't know what the girls were doing till I went into the room for a random check and saw a teary eyed AN comfortably tucked in. She stretched her arms out to be rescued the moment she saw me but she did not cry then.

Seeing that she was ok after she got out of the layers, I left the room while the girls continue to play.

Short while later, I heard a little girl's cries from the room and went in to have a look. AN was crying. Her hands were on the handles of a toy stroller while she cried. The eldest jie jie probably got worried that they could be in trouble and started explaining that they were playing when AN started crying. Another jie jie said AN wanted to push the stroller out but the eldest jie jie stopped her.

I gave my girl a tight hug while asking to hear her side of the story but AN could only cry. The eldest jie jie then commented that AN didn't know how to speak, only knew how to cry.

That comment upset me, not so much that I suspected AN was being bullied but more of the fact I'm heartbroken that AN didn't know how to say 'No' when she was being made to do things against her wishes. On second thoughts, AN wasn't bullied. She was just too young to participate and the eldest jie jie just didn't realise that.

Reminds me that how I had been treating AN will relate to how she handles relationships as she grows up. I had been too ..... forceful and has created in AN, a fear of standing up for herself, an inability to reject. :(

Maybe she was 'victimized', or rather chosen for roles no one will play, because she was the youngest. Maybe she will learn to say No whenever necessary as she grows up. Maybe I'm thinking too much again, but that was a good reminder to me that what AN grows up to be like will depend on how I behave as her mother. And how much I pray for my daughter.

I do not want AN to grow up to be a bully but I certainly do not wish that she will be on the receiving end. I pray the Lord will give her the wisdom to deal with situations in ways pleasing to Him.

From these little incidents (another being the eldest jie jie sneering at AN for not knowing how to even shoot from a gun. It didn't bother me at all that AN had never played with a gun), AN appeared to be one who will not fight back. Maybe she's still young but I pray she will continue to grow up with a merciful spirit like I notice in her at this age.

Towards the end of the day, she went on to give the jie jies a goodbye hug and 'I love you' sign while saying that out loud. That warmed me so much....why have I been blinded to AN's sweet sweet temperament and the little tantrums seem to always look worse than they really are?

Lord, please open my eyes to see AN's good and encourage her to grow in them. Please help me to see AN's fault so that I can pray for her. Please help me see myself each second of the day so that AN will be able to see who you are in the right light. Please keep me under control each day and protect AN's little spirit from my anger. Please, please remind me that building AN's character is much much more important than how much she eats each day, or how many alphabets she can recognize.

Amen!

Lapbook 1 - Noah's Ark

We've finally completed our first lapbook.

I did most of the colouring, AN helped with the cutting (by holding onto the scissors with me and then immediately asking to have one of her own after that session) and pasting. Quite like how it turned out and we're left with a little decorating which is not important at all. All that is important are in there already.

There were some struggles and I had to be firm with certain things that we had to do but on the whole I enjoyed myself (have always enjoyed craft work and now AN is growing up to be able do these things with me). I think AN enjoyed herself too, I hope. She does not sit still to learn alphabets and numbers or even for reading sessions now (most of the times) but she's learnt to count the animals as we put this Noah's Ark together (and she had been willing to sit down with me to count). She randomly enjoys colouring sessions but has agreed to do it together with me this time.

She is currently hooked to cutting and pasting (with whatever glue we used, and tapes). With the kid scissors I got her after that 1st session, she's cut everything I gave her to cut and she loved it to bits. It's like a newly acquired skill that she's so proud to practice and show off to me and Mr Liow. For now, she's cut some wrongly printed materials that I gave to her, and a bubble wrap. And she's been careful to see all her fingers before she snips, so no accidents yet *keeping fingers crossed* It's out of her reach whenever she's not using it though.

Poor me has to pick up tiny pieces after her but the iRobot (new W)has arrived to save my life! (UPS left it with the estate management coz iRobot did not state our full address on the mailing label).

And to update, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for all the well wishing, comments and prayers. Appreciate them all!

Updated 6.41pm with pictures (finally uploaded!)

Reading article from AN's toddler bible: Noah's Ark (was supposed to be rotated but...duno what happened here)

The animals went into the ark, two by two (Genesis 6: 19-20)


Noah's Colors


Genesis 7:5 - Noah did everything God commanded him to do

Genesis 9: 11-13


A general coloring page of the mentioned topic

What is wrong with YOU

It's not a matter of whether he's talking to anyone. It's a matter of what is more important to him. He doesn't even behave like he hears me when he's just sitting right next to me, because he is playing games.

He got upset and asked me: "What's the matter with YOU?" when I stopped speaking midway. I stopped speaking because I felt like I was talking to myself!!! I felt like a crazy woman talking to myself. I have already been talking to myself the whole day long, everyday!!!!

How humorous!

It's tiring having to repeat a million times when talking to AN before she finally 'hears' what I say. And I have to do the same with Adrielle's father.

He said he heard me and could repeat the few words I spoke. What use is that? I don't need a parrot.

What do I need? I think interaction will be nice? Communication will be nice too? Probably I can consider investing in a voice recorder and know for sure it also can repeat what I just told it. I can also record a relevant response so I have some 2 way communication going on.

I'm so tired.

The wonders of PMS and what it can do to chase away whatever remaining ability to reason.

When one's having a bad day

JUST. ABOUT. EVERYTHING. HAS. TO. GO. WRONG.

1st, AN's having a less than cooperative day with me. It's always trying when this baby decides to scream instead of speak like a human or at least blabber like a baby for most of her waking hours.

And then after waiting 6 days excitedly for the new iRobot to come and going online to track its whereabouts the whole day while preparing materials for AN's new lapbook, I saw its status as "Delivered"!

What?? I've been pacing the glass door since I heard the UPS truck drive into the estate but have not received anything!

It was signed for by "Brooks", whoever that is.

Called iRobot up to see what's going to happen next and they offered to send another set which we'll receive in 3-5 days (I'm expecting at least 6 days. We paid to have the robot send here in 3-5 days but it only came on the 6th.)

I needed to TALK to someone but guess I can only expect to talk to myself. Called the dear hubby in the office and I keep getting "Ok? Ok, bye bye" before I finished 2 sentences. He hung up even before I managed a "Bye". AN commented after we hung up, "Mummy, so funny right?" after I hung up the phone.

I have to hang on. How? I don't know, just hang on. Crazy things happen, and I'm probably all alone. Just have to hang on. People who work have colleagues to share workload. Responsibilites under the roof falls on only one. Working people have colleagues to share feelings with, married people have spouses...I have myself, Baileys and Maen. What a big party of 3.

Updated: He just called to say he was talking to someone.

Sticky furkiddos

We were out for Gymboree this afternoon and came back to find both Baileys and Maen looking sticky and messy -_____-"

Made us wonder what they did in our absence. Fought?? It's been a long time since they 'fought' till they looked so dirty. Maen looked way worse than Baileys. I thought she fell into the toilet bowl coz both her ears looked like they had been previously soaked in liquid and then dried.

Took me a while to spray and brush them through to get them looking decent again.

hehe.

What were they fighting over?

Dessert Museum in a Summer's Night

We got an invitation to join Danielle (Emma's mum) last Saturday to join them and another family at the Dessert Museum in the evening for the last night walk this summer and joined them since we had nothing on that night.

It was a really nice stroll (the night was as hot as a Singapore day without the humidity and strong sun) and we had a good time getting to know the group, especially Danielle and Tim (Emma's dad). We learnt that scorpions glow in the dark under UV lights only last Saturday. Sua ku right? hehe. The whole time that night, Jacob (Emma's brother) was busy searching for the luminous glow of scorpions with his UV light. It was fun whenever he found any.

Emma is such a darling. Whenever she couldn't get something she wanted, she would pout and stomp off so fast one of her parents had to run after her. And she would say such cute things. She's really a doll! Used to only see her for that 1 hour in Gymboree at most and find her to be a really smart toddler. That 3 hours on Saturday confirms how fast she is for her age!

Danielle has intentions to home school Emma and has started with lap-booking. Got me so interested I went online to check out what those are. I'm always idea-less, poor AN. She really has Auntie Danielle to thank for giving mummy more ideas besides just painting and the latest pasting with whatever reusuable materials from packaging (that mummy used to do a lot in the past in birthday cards for friends).

Lastly, I only managed to get 2 pictures from that night of the kids. It was too dark and with 3 kids, this was the best I could do :)

The 3 toddlers

An doesn't enjoy sitting on her stroller so we didn't bring it along with us on the night walk. Was glad there were push carts provided by the museum. Emma wanted to ride in it whenever AN was out and they took turns to each ride and the other to push. This was of them both pushing an empty cart. So cute. hehe. See how tiny AN is? Emma is 5 months younger than AN by the way.