No, it is not a typo in the title.
J has been pestering me for the past few days if he could open his presents and when the time arrives, he was very excited and ripped away the paper wrappers while M look on curiously. J got a toddler digital camera and M received a personalized Xmas story CD album from us.
By now, we are filled to the brim but we still have to do the "cut the birthday cake" ceremony which excited J the most as he did not eat his dinner as all due to him snacking the whole day. When the waitress took out the cake, he wanted to go sit beside his grandpa so that he can get to blow out the candles. Since we have no space in our tummy for the cakes, we just cut a slice for J who wanted to eat that.
M is big enough to balance himself on the tricycle. I can't believe 8 months has passed since he arrived in this world.
In this week, J fell 2 times in a span of 2 days. Of course there are a few trips here and there but nothing major i.e. no evidence of blood or scratches.
Onboard, J was kept entertained by the gadgets around him until exhaustion sets in and he slept for about 1.5hours.
We took the metro + shuttle bus to Taipei 101. Not knowing that it was a cold day, we didn't bring thicker clothing thus we could not ascend to the observatory tower. Frankly, there is nothing much to shop in Taipei 101 so we extended our shopping route to the nearby malls. We returned to Taipei 101’s foodcourt for lunch but J had fell asleep and thus missed lunch. He awoke at around 2+ and after a “Happy Meal” at McDonald’s we took the cab back to the hotel. At about 7pm, we left for Shilin Night Market for another night of local snacks.
We headed for Wulai and stopped at Wulai Old Street for lunch cooked the aboriginal way. After lunch, we made our way down to the Wawa Valley. Halfway through, there was a roadblock due to construction and we could not proceed any further. However, the 2 boys was fascinated by the helicopter picking up the logs from the valley and fetching it up the mountains.
Yeliu – We visited the Ocean Park and watched the usual performance by the dolphins and sea lion. The place was very emply thus J got the opportunity to go onstand to be kissed by the sea lion.
We had an afternoon snacks at a residence café and they even loan us a pair of binoculars so that we can have a good view of the mountainous landscape.
A's 1st month celebration. It was also a good opportunity for J to catch up with E's sons, C and R.
When we reached home, it started pouring. I wish we could have stayed a while longer as it is afterall M’s 1st swim. I promise to return on a sunny day.
Many people have been asking/encouraging me to have a 3rd child because I have 2 boys and it would be good to have a girl.
I would have a 3rd one if all of the following conditions are met:
1. I can be a full-time homemaker while retaining my domestic helper - I need my domestic helper because I would rather spend the time with the children rather than over the housework.
2. My intention of having another child is simply for the sake of having another child; regardless of its sex – I still yearn to have a baby girl but that yearning is decreasing in opposite proportion to M’s cuteness. I look at M and I can feel a gush of love overflowing out of me.
3. Quality pre-schools/kindergardens/primary/secondary schools. – I have been searching for a reputable playgroup in my area but none exist in my estate. The better ones are in more centralized location and nearer to town. The primary school enrollment is a night-mare. Unless he goes to his dad’s alma mater which is just an ordinary neighborhood school, otherwise, for J, he is almost at the last phase of the intake. Again, most of such schools are located in the town area or expensive neighborhood.
4. Free education all the way to tertiary level - This takes up the bulk of the cost of raising a child.
5. Cheaper medical cost and insurance – There is a saying in Singapore that it is cheaper to die than to fall ill.
6. Full-time mother gets monetary compensation – Hey, someone has to pay for my manicure and pedicure, right? Now seriously, according to Reuters, a stay-home-mum is worth U$138,095 annually. I don’t mind that in Singapore Dollars. Heck! I even don’t mind that in Ringgit too.
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Stay-at-home mother's work worth $138,095 a year
Wed May 2, 2007 3:04pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year, according to research released on Wednesday.
This reflected a 3 percent raise from last year's $134,121, according to Salary.com Inc, Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts.
The 10 jobs listed as comprising a mother's work were housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, laundry machine operator, van driver, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, chief executive officer and psychologist, it said.
The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, it said, working 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime.
A mother who holds full-time job outside the home would earn an additional $85,939 for the work she does at home, Salary.com.
Last year she would have earned $85,876 for her at-home work, it said.
Salary.com compiled the online responses of 26,000 stay-at-home mothers and 14,000 mothers who also work outside the home. __________________________________________________________
came along with the main meal that K and I shared. M just ate off the table and I mean it literally. He sat in the baby chair and sucked the edge of the table. When I was reading the menu, he grabs it from me and sucks the edge too. Halfway through the meal, he decides to drink his milk and fell asleep.
The experience of bfing J and M are totally different; just as their characters are totally different.The only thing they have in common is that they look alike and how much I love them.
The data shows that in Singapore, for every 1.08 boys at birth, there is only 1 girl. For the age of 0 - 14 years old, there are 353,333 males and 329,005 female. This means that there are more males than females in Singapore. This data is manifested among my circle of friends. Just as an example below:
Whenever there is a "new girl in town", some of us anxious mummy would try to "chop" (reserve) the girl for our boys. Thus when Baby A, she immediately has 3 boys added to her waiting list - J and Elaine's 2 boys, R & C. (M has been reserved by Rach for her girl. No one can resist M's lotus root arm)
C is now a teenager who is a great help to me whenever she visits us. She will play and read to J and attend to him as much as she could. She aspires to be a gynecologist and loves to bicker with K.
....thus she is now officially a toddler.
It is both fun and funny to watch J play; especially when he mimics the adults.
In the 1st station, we were taught the proper method of brushing our teeths, then we went to a dark room to see the plague build-up on the teeth. At the 3rd station, we were reminded of the 3 steps to having strong, healthy teeth - brush and floss twice daily, use the right product (Colgate of course!) and visit the dentis twice a year.
A working mum's dilemma is the lack of quality time with her child.
....it is all worth it.
I absolutely love to dress J in this ensemble. He looks dashing in it.
Had a gathering with E, V, W and YN (clockwise from top left) on 08/08/08.
It has been ages since I visited the Centre thus I am not sure what is being showcase there so I am looking forward to J having an educational trip.
J came back with a dino toy and helicopter. He spend the rest of the day mimicking a dino and chased us around the house; wanting to bite us and making roaring noises.
J's hair grow very fast; and it grow upwards. Thus it is forever spiky.
We did the "Marie Biscuit" tradition where marie biscuits are hung onto the baby to stop him from salivating. I don't know the exact significant of this tradition but it seems like a fun activity to capture on "film".
There was a stage where they do nothing but just eat, sleep, cry and poo. Then one day, they decide to increase their activities by cooing, smiling, salivating and roll over. Once they start to roll over, that's where the trouble begins because that means they already have a mind of their own and is on the way to explore their independence. Try changing theit diaper at this stage and you would know what I mean. When you need them to lay still till you complete the change, they will insist on rolling over to see the world right-side up.
As both J and M have a significant amount of jet-black hair, it seems like a waste to cut and throw it away. Thus with J, we decide to have the hair made into 胎毛笔 (taimaobi).
first strands of hair can be used to make these brushes. The brush has been widely used by Chinese officials, scholars and students to write, practise calligraphy or paint for thousands of years. Its popularity diminished with the advent of fountain pens and ballpoint pens.
