Shoo Mummy!

Little DinoEgg : Mummy, can you please go to your bank today?
Me : Why?
Little DinoEgg : Because I want to help Teacher Shin clean up the brushes after class

Aye... me being chased off the class by my son (-_-")

So I left the school after I prep him for the class, went to have my breakfast (hungry!) at the food centre opposite the school. Took my time to enjoy my poh piah and fried carrot cake with dark soy sauce. Head back to school to sit in for a while before class ends.

And he did not help Teacher Shin clean up coz he was SLOW! Couldn't even finish his art work let alone help to clean up.

Teacher's Little Helper

I left Little DinoEgg with Teacher Shin of WowArt n went off to run my errands. Came back @ 12.20pm and saw that there were no kids in the school. Silly me, I have remembered the wrong time, class ends at 12.15pm instead of 12.30pm. Was still so proud at myself for making it back on time *duhz*

I saw Little DinoEgg running out from the toilet with a bucket n some brushes in his hand. Teacher Shin says he is helping her cleaning the brushes n tidying up. She was all praises of him! She says he is very helpful, understand and follow her instructions very well. And [quote] "He is the first child that I do not need to teach him how to fold the apron." [unquote] Wow! I'm amazed and very proud of my son! Although I would love him to show such helpfulness and thoughtfulness @ me. No such luck yet hahaha~

I am glad that Little DinoEgg is enjoying his art class, I am relieved that the Teacher Shin and the other teachers does not find him too chatty too noisy too disruptive too independent. Shudders at that teacher's face & comments at the previous class conducted at Seng Kang community centre. I am glad that I made a right decision to stop that class after a term of lesson. Now, I can be sure that Little DinoEgg will have the correct guidance in drawing & painting. A chance for his little mind to think and explore, to see the world through his eyes.

No more copied drawings!
(This is what he did when he was with the community centre class)

Artists out at Play

I finally meet up with the troupe after my work. We went for a delicious dinner at Genki Sushi @ Orchard Central

Our sushi feast!

After that we walked around, trying to digest our sumptuous food, sis decided to let the 3 artists pose with their works.

Here is a close up of Little DinoEgg's lotus. Can you spot a frog on the lily pad? Hahaha... its not very obvious but if u look hard you will find something a little bit weird.

Little DinoEgg's work

WowArt Sept Holiday Workshop

Sis MMS this photo to me while waiting for taxi

I'm very interested in WowArt but regret that time is not in my favour. With the PV duties, swimming lessons and moving house, my schedules are chaotic!

Sis asked me if I am interested in their September school holiday workshop, but I told her I can't take leave today. She volunteer to bring Little DinoEgg to the class!!! Thank you Sis! You are Wonderful!

So now they are out there having fun while I'm sitting in the office working and wondering how's everything. Can't wait for the time to pass quickly where I can join them for dinner later in town.

2011 Teacher's Day gift

Every year I always wonder what to get for the teachers. I wanted to get something useful and not too expensive. This year, I searched one of the popular parenting forum's Bulk Purchase corner and came upon some recycle folderable bags from Cheerybox. Both of these 2 type is $5.90, very reasonable.

A pile of bags, all 15 of them!

Finished "wrapping" them

Final product, ready to be given to Teachers!

I did not get any for myself though i was very tempted, but i got 2 free ones from Cheerybox~~ They happened to have a stall at a flea market in Tampines, I choose to collect the bags coz I was afraid mailing will take too long. I made a trip down, came home, check the bags (wallet type) and found that the zip does not work well in 4 of the bags. I sent an email to them and they replied very fast, told me to go down to change. As an apology, they gave me 2 bags (1 pouch type n 1 haversack type), for making extra trip down and spending about $40 on taxi fare. So now I have my own recycle folderable bags ^^, which I know I will find them very useful.

Getting there

The house is in a major mess! It looks like some hoarder's staying here! LOL

We started packing stuffs about 2 weeks ago. Process is slow but slow n steady, we are getting there. Getting ready for the BIG move in a couple of days!

Chinese Tea Leaves Eggs 茶叶蛋

My 2nd attempt on Chinese Tea Leaves Egg 茶叶蛋. The eggs are boiled just nice so when I put them into the sauce to boil it did not crack too much n spilling the egg whites. The are slightly nicer "marble" effect. I added 2 small pieces of Angelica Sinensis or dang-gui , the flavour is nicer. I also leave them in my ShuttleChef for 1 full day before I take it out to eat.

"I buy for u"

I was browsing Zakka and happen to click on this owl pendant, Little DinoEgg saw this immediately shouted "Mummy! This is nice!! Buy!" I replied "It cost $10 and I don't have money to buy it." (give a sad face)

Little DinoEgg quickly run to get his spidy coin box, open it n dig through the box trying to find a $10 note. All he can find is $50 notes, and he looked worried. Then he went off to find daddy "Daddy! Can I take $10 from you, I'll give you $50." (hmm... not a fair "exchange") Daddy asked him and he told him that he wants to give me $10 to buy something. Daddy says to take $10 from his wallet which he did, then he really took the $50 from his spidy box n put it into daddy's wallet. He gave me the $10 and told me that now I have money to buy that pretty owl. So sweet right?

Of course the $10 eventually ends up in his spidy box hahaha~

Swimming 2011 Month#7 Lesson#1

We went back to swimming class today! And I am very happy with Little DinoEgg. He did not throw temper, whine, complain, rude to Coach R etc etc. Well done!

I was afraid that he has forgotten how to swim so we went to the swimming complex early, reached there at 2.35pm and let the kids have some fun in the shallow pool. Little DinoEgg is so excited, he hit the pool immediately and was soon kicking away in the water happily. No sign of fear or hesitate.

When it was time for lesson, I reminded him on our "Swimming Class Rules";
1. No throwing temper at Coach R
2. No whining
3. No complaining
4. No stomping feet
5. If he feels upset, he has to calm down by "Breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth".
6. If he feels anger, he can come out of the water to sit beside me while he calm down

If he breaks any of the above rule, it will be end of swimming class.

When doing the warm up laps, he went into the water holding on the top of the board without hesitate. However when its time to hold on the bottom of the board, he needs a little bit of encouragement n Coach R to pull him down, twice. After that he is ok.

Later on through the class, Coach R told him to do his bubble blowing, Little DinoEgg asked him how many times he has to do. Coach R says XX times, and he started bargaining with Coach. If it was last time, he will get mad, raises his voice to protest, cry then stomp his feet. Well, he did not do that this time!!!!! He simply laugh it off and agrees with Coach on the number!!! WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!

I'm feeling all puffed up n proud with myself and Little DinoEgg. He has indeed improved in his behaviour, perhaps he has grown up a little bit thus he can remember things. Or perhaps the books that I read to him to help him deal with his emotions n anger helps too.

I'm so happy with Little DinoEgg today, besides doing the above he also manages to do the following (with a little help fm the back float) without any protest;
- did his free style right hand pulling with head turn sideway to breath in while holding on to the board.
- swim free style to Coach R w/o the board doing 4 pulls of the arms.

He was not confident in swimming free style holding on to the board and doing 4 pulls previously. Let's hope that next lesson he will do the same without the help from a small little back float.

Oh ya, he was clearly very happy to be back swimming coz he did his Chicken Dance which sends me n Catherine laughing so loudly n in an unglamorous manner. He also did this....

Clearly he is happy that he is back to the pool

Filler & Calmness

Daily reminder of Bucket Filler and Calming Breathing have indeed make Little DinoEgg a better boy.

Whenever I have a chance, I'll asked Teacher Siti, 沙老师 and Teacher Sue about his behaviour. Of course he still goes into harmless kiddish squabbles with his handful of best pals or his sudden spur of naughtiness and mischievous acts. But no more shouting n screaming at the top of his voice to show his anger and unhappiness.

Just now I casually asked Teacher Sue when I was in the school fetching him. She paused and think for a few seconds then say "He is good, no complains from Teacher Siti." I was happy, if she paused to try to remember means Little DinoEgg definitely is behaving and was not sent to her room to calm down. I don't know why, but since he started N2, no teachers can handle him, he always ended up in Teacher Sue's room where she will talk to him quietly.

At last~ I can breath a little bit easier. And so I decided that its time for him to return to the pool.

My Mouth is a Volcano!

Browsing through amazon.com and I found this book; My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook.

This is a book about Louis who has a habit of interrupting people.

"All of his thoughts are very important to him and when he has something to say, his words rumble and grumble in his tummy, they wiggle and jiggle on his tongue, and press firmly against his teeth, right before he ERUPTS (or interrupts). His mouth is a volcano! "

I received my copy today and planned to read it to him tonight.

Its a book with simple words, some of them repetition, especially the part where Louis' mind start think/racing and thoughts transforms into words which he eagerly want to share with every one. I tickled Little DinoEgg's tummy when I read the part about "his words rumble and grumble in his tummy" , this makes reading more interactive and exciting. The book recognizes that a child's words and thoughts ARE important, he probably can't wait to share with the whole world but it is rude to interrupts n chatter non stop, disregarding every one. It teaches the child in a fun way to show respect for others and to wait for their turn to speak.

You guessed it. Little DinoEgg is like Louis. He can go "mummy, mummy, MUM-MYYY!!" when I'm in the middle of a conversation/discussion, on the phone or in the midst of doing some work. No amount of teaching, explaining, scolding or what-so-ever drills the idea of DO NOT INTERRUPT into his head. He does this to every one and any one. Some people gets frustrated or feels irked at this rude boy. Some people are understanding and patient. Its time to teach him to be patient n wait for his turn to speak. Otherwise I fear that when he starts primary school he will be distracting every one in the class.

Look What am I up to

Its 9pm+ and Little DinoEgg just "threw" me a task..... To transform this heap of vehicles into a robot.

10mins later, after trying to be a smart alec to fix it without looking at the instruction manual, thinking that its just simple job of linking 5 vehicles into 1, I gave up. Took the instruction manual, look at the picture, follow the steps and 5mins later... VIOLA!

One "gigantic" Transformer Robot

Father's Day gift 2011

Lovely key chain

Little DinoEgg's gift to daddy for Father's Day, finally a "decent & useful" gift for daddy ^^, he made this in school. Daddy was clearly very happy with the gift. He keep saying he got nothing from him during the past Fathers' Day.

Earlier I whispered into Little DinoEgg's ears, telling him to give a hug to daddy and wish him Happy Father's Day. He was so excited n giggled. Then he tippy-toed into his room (while giggling which obviously gave him away), hide inside the room, peep at daddy (who is sitting at the study table just outside his room), then creep up to him and shouted "SURPRISE! Happy Father's Day, daddy!" follow by a big hug.

He is so funny! Of course daddy already saw him, have to act surprise and play along with him

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

Earlier this week I was at Kinokuniya looking for some books that will help me teach Little DinoEgg to control his anger and temper when I come across this book; Have You Filled a Bucket Today? I read it through before deciding to get this for Little DinoEgg. I know this will help in to be a better person and in a way control his outburst of temper, actions. To show some love, thoughtfulness, gentleness, respects to others.

At the back of the book, it says "Through sweet, simple prose and vivid illustrations, this heartwarming book encourage positive behaviour as children see how very easy and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation and love on a daily basis."

A little bit about the book. We all carry an invisible bucket that contains our feelings. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When our bucket is empty, we feel sad. A bucket filler is someone who says or does nice things for other people. By doing this, they are filling other people's buckets and filling their own bucket at the same time.

On the other hand, a bucket dipper says or does things to cause other people to feel bad. A bucket dipper empties their bucket when they say and do mean things.

The cheerful bucket with its rainbow colored hearts and stars attracts Little DinoEgg's attention. He sat there quietly listening to me reading, only interrupted me once (when we got to the bus driver), which is good coz he always interrupts me when I am reading or he will be distracted by something else or the picture on next page.

I guess he really like this book coz the next day when its Bedtime Reading, he get this book out for me to read again (he only have a handful of books that he fancy).

Now every morning after we usual hugs n kisses before I head off to work, I will tell him "Remember to fill some one's bucket today alright?" And when I reach home I will ask him "Did you fill some one's bucket today?" " Who's bucket?" He will proceed to tell me what he has done or who has emptied his bucket by dipping into it etc etc.

A chat with his teacher yesterday gives me some pleasant news. She says he no longer shouts or scream or protest loudly when some one is doing things that he does not like, snatched his things, teacher punish him etc Instead he will be calm and behave himself. Well, is this the work of the Invisible Bucket? I hope it is but we still have a long way to go to determine it. As of now, I am happy that he is no longer showing those bad attitude n temper tantrums. Hope he keeps it up.

Angry Octopus

I was browsing the net for some books that help children deal with their anger n temper when I came up this book; Angry Octopus by Lori Lite.

The book's introduction says these;

"Children love to unwind and relax with this fun exercise known as “progressive muscular relaxation”. Children relate to the angry octopus in this story as the sea child shows him how to take a deep breath, calm down, and manage his anger. This effective stress and anger management technique focuses awareness on various muscle groups to create a complete resting of the mind and body. Muscular relaxation can lower stress and anxiety levels. It can be used to decrease pain and anger. This engaging story quiets the mind and relaxes the body so your child can let go of anger and fall asleep peacefully."

The many reviews in various site by many readers who bought this book to help their kid(s) or little patients (they are doctors, psychologist :P) are good. Thus I decided to give it a try. Plus I like the colorful pictures (saw the preview in amazon.com). Its bright colors should attract Little DinoEgg to sit down and listen to the story.

I got this book today and couldn't wait to read it to Little DinoEgg. We sat down at our Reading Time and I started to read it to him.

The story started with this page, give us a feeling of calmness, serenity, peaceful, the feeling of waking up fresh n happy in the morning. This already sets us in our relaxed n calm mood, we snuggle to get us into a more comfortable position while I read on.

The words the author uses are very expressive. When I read it, I feel that I am the Octopus getting pent up, frustrated and angry, then feeling the energy going out of my body, releasing the tight feelings in my chest out from my mouth then finally feeling calmed n relaxed.

"Now close your eyes and take a deep breath. Breathe in through your nose and let out the air out of your mouth..." AAaaahhhh~~~

We follow what the Sea Child told the Octopus to do, Little DinoEgg find it so much fun! Curling his toes, tucking himself into a ball, squeezing his face etc etc. At the end of the book he was giggling and laughing away and wanted me to read the book a second time!

This book is great for both kids and adults. Inside the book, the author wrote "Follow the Octopus along as he learns to calm down as he relaxes his mind and body. Notice how he learns to be the boss of his own feelings, body and anger." Sometimes we forgot how to relax and kept our frustrated feelings inside us. We inevitably vent our anger on our loved ones, which are no good. Learn how to be the boss of our feelings, body and anger. We will be a better person n have better relationship with others.

I hope Little DinoEgg benefits from this book. I would very much like him to better control & manage his anger n frustration. No more sudden outbursts from him, no more shooting high blood pressure for me and daddy. *keeping fingers crossed*

Swimming 2011 Month#6 Lesson#1

We left the pool barely 10mins into the lesson.

I did not see what happened but Little DinoEgg was in the water doing the warm up laps. I just turn my head away from the pool to talk to Catherine when I hear him screaming for Coach R. I turned back and saw him struggling in the water, Coach R walking towards him. Then Little DinoEgg shouted "Its D!!" He has accused D of pulling his legs when he was swimming BUT D was sitting on the ledge at the other end so it was definitely not her. Coach R tried to explained to him but he was not listening, starts to wail n raises his voice and he sends him to me.

I tried to calm him down, make him lower his voice etc but it does not work. Getting frustrated and fed up I dragged him away, telling him that we are going home RIGHT NOW! Of course when he realized that I was not only verbal threatening or warning but REALLY leaving the pool, he fought back, refusing to stand or walk. So I dragged him along ignoring his pleads, wail, cry etc etc. I am very tired of such things happening again n again on every Sundays. It makes him cant enjoy and learn swimming (which was my intention), and turns my Sundays lousy.

When we reached home I told him very clearly n sternly that he is not going for swimming lessons any more since he chose to show his bad n rude behaviour during the lesson. Later that night i text Coach R that we will be stopping swimming as I think I need to deal with his temper tantrums n anger issue before anything else. I was exasperated n dejected. Most of all I was tired of all these, it makes my scream at him more often, something that I would not want to do it. Its time I settle this once and for all, otherwise it will get out of hand (it is actually going out of hand but still within control).

1st meal using Shutter Chef

I cooked my 1st dinner with my new toy; Themal Shutter Chef, and we are very satisfied with the results.

I cook herbal chicken soup in 1 pot and stew pig pork belly in the other pot. Both turns out very good, tastes the same as I have cooked over the stove fire for 2.5 - 3hrs. Our dinner consist of these 2 dishes, steam cod fish and stir fried kouji leaves with prawns. The fastest dinner I have cooked so far; dinner ready in 30mins

My 1st GSS 2011 loot

I've heard about "magic thermal cooker" earlier this year but knowing that its a pricy item, I've decided to wait till GSS (Great Singapore Sale) to see if I can get a good deal.

Well, its worth the wait. I went to Tangs (since I have a $10 voucher) with the intention of getting either an Endo or Tiger brand thermal cooker. To my dismay, a Tiger thermal cooker cost $299 AFTER DISCOUNT! Same goes for Zojirushi. The price is only for a 1 pot cooker, I am looking for 2 pots cooker. On top of that the design is bulky, with the handle sticking out. It will occupy more space in my tight kitchen counter plus the handle will create some kind of hindrance to me (I'm no lady in any ways).

I was very interested in Endo and La Gourmet as their price is slightly over a hundred for a 2-pots cooker. Was very curious about the price, asked the sales lady and was told that even though the brand is Japan & Germany, it is manufactured in Malaysia. She then recommends me Thermal Cookware, Shuttle Chef. The price is a hefty SGD299 after discount, usual price is SGD400+. I decided to part with my cash *painfully* and purchase this coz its compact thus does not take up alot of space, it does not have ugly "ears" sticking out at the side and most important it has 2 pots! Of course the freebies of x1 6litre pot and the frying pan of XXcm (no idea how big it is) makes me veered towards "go ahead and buy".

Yesterday night I tried out with water, put the 2 pots of water on the stove for about 10mins n then put them into the container. This morning when I open it, the water are still hot, this makes me very eager to try out with the soup. Now that it passes the "keep warm" test, will it pass the "cooking" and "tasty" test? We shall see about it.