Oh what talent!

Sarah drew this in preparation for her art exam. She really has got it in her but the little miss perfectionist reigns insisting it's not nice!

The artist

This one is turning out to be quite the entertainer belting out song originals  about anything under the sun!

Nico especially is her inspiration, since he is her bff for now!

Her hand work from school

Reading aloud

It's a sweet sight when you get to see the kakak reading out loud to the younger sis. Beats seeing them watching youtube on the phone any time.

I don't quite understand these two. They simply love to watch blind bag toy reviews on youtube. And inadvertently, Hana will somehow get to a tamil or hindi video!

Show and tell

This is Daniah's robot that she built for her show and tell segment in school. Made of all recycled materials, the robot was to be used as a pencil box
Quite creative I would say with the arms as pencil holders.

Mummy peeves

What's your mummy peeve? Mine is waking them up early for school. I absolutely hate it especially whdn they just go back straight to sleep! And here you are screaming repeatedly for them to wake up.

Funny times would be when they are woken up mid dream and starts talking nonsense "i need to take out the hairbrush first!" That coming from daniah, which is of no surprise knowing how vain she is, that her dreams would be of her grooming herself!

Bad times would be when they start throwing a tantrum for being woken up. As if this is something i had even really wanted to do!

I threw the towel with Sarah and made it clear to her that I would no longer wake her up for school, and it worked! Well to an extent... i will switch on her room light, switch off the aircon and pull off her blanket and thats the extent of it... oh and of vourse raising my voice a little more when i wake tasnym up such that the order carties to the other room! Even then, one time we found her still asleep as we were leaving which led to a mad rush on her part! Well, hope its a lesdon to her and a reminder that I meant it when I told her I was no longer going to wake her up for school...  am itching to start this with tasnym too!

Funny thing though is that they have no problems whatsoever in waking up on their own and getting ready when going for events they really want to go for! Figures..

night woes

I seriously do not know what is going on with Daniah.  For slightly over the last month, she has been refusing to sleep in her own bed and insisting to sleep by my bed on the floor.

It all started about 2 weeks into Ramadan.  She will wake me in the middle of the night telling me that she cant go back to sleep and insisting that I accompany her.  Things were fine prior to that.  We just moved home, they had a new custom made bed, and Tasnym and Daniah were sharing a room nicely.

I am not sure what triggered it.  She insists there was nothing disturbing her and that she just didnt have anyone to talk to at night which dont quite make sense.

Tired out after not having very good sleep over a few nights, I decided enough was enough and asked her to sleep on the floor in my room.  My intended plan of having her being tired from sleeping on the floor didnt quite work out as she has nicely settled in there for the last one month or so.

fast forward to now and she is still sleeping on the floor.  Well she no longer wakes me up at night as much which is a fantastic improvement but I end up having to deal with her being on the floor.  Not to mention the other sister who now searches for someone to accompany her at night when she sleeps!

It becomes a musical bed at night in my home.  Even the helper had to desert her own room and start sleeping with Tasnym...  I really am wondering how long this is going to last.  And to think we spent so much on that bunk bed... sigh

stay at home mum

I never considered myself as someone who could be a homebody. I am so easily bored and always thought I am going to be the worse mum ever if I were to just stay home and care for them. Now I am no longer too sure about that. For the first time ever, I start thinking about being a full time stay at home mum.
3 of my cousins are doing it and I have got to say that I do envy them. maybe, it 's because work is no longer giving the same satisfaction it used to. And as the girls grow older, I know that Hana's young years are going to fly past very quickly.
I've got to say I do miss being with the girls at home. can't say I like other parts abt being at home like having to clean up but I 've got to say that the idea of staying home don't seem to look so bad. 

My flower in full bloom. pretty eh?

Reflections of a parent

Two things struck me hard as a parent today. The first was when we drove past Rachel's home early this morning. I kind of recalled that her birthday was coming up knowing that it was close to Sarah's own birthday.

As we drove past, I was brought back to the day when I was last at the house. On the day of her funeral after she was brought home from Kinabalu. It struck me how the parents may be feeling now. knowing that their daughter is frozen in time to be forever 11 years never to celebrate her birthday ever again. And it made me appreciate the fact that I still have my children with me. To lose your child is the most painful thing a parent could ever go through. I cannot imagine the pain.

My visit to AWWA in the afternoon brought abt the second reflection for the day about parenting. I saw the beauty of the children there coupled with the challenges it posed. As I stood there watching the parents send their children to the school , it struck me how much the kids are loved and cared for. That their disability did not make them less loved. They are not easy to love not easy to care for.

I was struck by the sharing by a parent on how they are challenged each day even to bring the child out. As they face the stares of others
And how we need to develop inclusion of society so that others do not bat an eyelid when they see a child with disability.
Caring for a child with disability is hard enough. Why do we then make it even harder for them? When we ostracize them and make a wide berth around them.

Parenting is hard enough

starting school

And so Hana is starting her journey into School life very soon
She has been registered to start at Hanis Montessori this upcoming year.
Not that she has not gone for any school yet as she has been attending parent and child classes at the Growing UP Gifted just like her sisters before. The difference thouqh is that she is attending the mandarin class with both of us trying to catch up and understand what Lao Zhi (hmmm... did I get that right?) is asking us to do! 

It is kind of ironic that as much as she has learnt a little mandarin (like the words all little kids love - piku or buttocks.... to think of it what is it with kids and buttocks or other language variations of it?), she somehow does not speak Malay though the bibik tries hard to speak to her in the language.

Well not so much she does not speak it at all but the words are spoken with an English twang to it! To the chagrin of the grandparents!

Nenek: ini ikan (pointing to fish)

Hana: no not eecan, this is fish!

Football dreams

And the third golden girl is Tasnym who won her first ever gold in football about 2 months ago.  It was indeed a blessing in disguise when she was denied a place in the netball team and was offered to play in the football team instead.  Girls football is indeed growing in popularity with more clubs and schools offering the option.

Well it certainly made the father's day to finally have someone follow his footsteps in this all girls zone. And off they went to buy her a pair of football boots with her name embroidered on it!

Well I am not going to lie in saying that she was a ronaldo in the making.  That I would say lie in the twin power foreign talents the school had in 2 girls who played and dribbled the ball like stars easily earning themselves the award for top scorer and best player.

Whatever it is, the gold is around her neck, the appetite is whet for more football action and definitely many more gold medals.

The Golden Girls

Not only did Schooling get the first Olympic gold medal for Singapore last week, we got a gold medallist in our family too.  Well ok it is not an Olympic gold Medal but still a gold medal nonetheless

Sarah received her first gold medal at the pesta Sukan 2016. I do believe it is her first gold medal ever. With her previous medals being silver and bronze.

A proud moment with the same gold medal pose good for any Olympian ! we can always dream...

And the medal was stolen by another wannabe who is also dreaming big dreams!

Growing up

I have always been amazed as I watch babies grow.  From a helpless bundle to one who bables and talk as they pick up words of communication.

Its simply amazing really as I watch the girls.  Sarah is now a young lady, all prep to fly on her own.  Tasnym and Daniah will follow very soon.

And Hana.... as she now walks and babbles.

The little Hana has just turned 1 and yes how fast time flies!

Just like her sisters, she started walking at 8 months and is truly showing her personality by making her demands clearly known.

Favorites: balls, balloons and any soft toys
Favorite characters: Elmo and Mickey/ Minnie Mouse
Words spoken: mmmmmemmmmme for mama, behbeh for bibik and there for anything else she is pointing at!

Unfortunately, she is quite the picky eater so she is rather petite.

But it's ok, I am still cute! Here I am sending Kakak Daniah to school!

Beating all records!

This baby of mine looks set on her way to be breaking all records... from the delay in growing her teeth to her now learning to walk only at 7 months.

Sarah holds the record at starting to walk at 10 months.  With Hana already standing and trying to walk, she does look set to break her sister's record!

Toothless

She is turning 8 months old in 4 days time but is still absolutely gummy and toothless! While many others her age are sprouting teeth!!

Oh well... we really thought she would not be able to try out the various biscuits I have already gotten her but she has put those gums to really good use, grinding away at her food!

And not to lose out, the older sister has also decided to go toothless! Something I have been waiting for in a long while considering that the gap between the 2 front teeth were showing signs of decay.

To sit or not to sit?

After I gave birth to Daniah, I took 2 years to lose 15 kg.  This time round, I seriously wonder how long I am going to take. Not only am I having to deal with the weight, I have to also deal with a very potruded tummy that is seriously being very stubborn about going down.  So much so, that wearing a corset has become the uniform of the day.

There was one time when I was waiting for a cab by the road when a cab went out of its way, despite having an "On Call" sign to pick me up.  The dear uncle said that he took pity on me cos I was pregnant and yet had to wait in the sun for a cab.  I really did not dare to tell him that I was pregnant, for fear he would ask me to get off his cab!!

The dilemma faced on a daily basis, now that I am a commuter on the Mert, is whether I should take up that seat offered to me.  Who says Singaporeans do not give up seats?  I have received a good share of offers... funny considering that I did not really get one that one time I had to take the dear Mert to work when I was REALLY pregnant.  As opposed to now, when I am just well uhm... potruding! I think it is difficult when the rest of me is relatively slim in contrast to my tummy which makes me look so pregnant.

So to take the seat or not?  I did not want to embarrass those who offer and yet felt seriously guilty takeing cos it felt like I was cheating all these who have nicely been so gracious to me.

So, to resolve the guilt, yes I am going to go on a diet, even it means I am going to walk 3 km or more a day!

first foods

There is a first time for everything and this baby bird had her first try at cereal today. She is the only one who got to try an organic rice. Well she was not as enthusiastic as the rest was, partly cos she had to do the big motion mid way through. Never mind,  tomorrow we will try again!

Latest football fan

2 nights ago, we discovered that little Hana somehow is a little football fan. Wanting to soothe her as she was throwing a crying fit, her daddy placed her on his lap as he was watching the match between Singapore and Trengganu. Not only did she stop crying, but she started getting very excited and shouting at the tv!

Other sports channel did not get a similar response! So either she is the next Starhub Lions diehard fan or just excited seeing so many men running on the field!

Five Little Monkeys

It's interesting how even a baby as young as 4 months old can develop their preference for things. My baby has decided the pop song of the day for her is the " 5 little monkeys" song. Only one particular version - that of an upbeat tempo will do. All other jumping monkeys are not welcomed!

It is a preferred lullaby to sleep and will get her quiet even though she may be having a full fledged tantrum at the point.

Ready for Work?

I just realised that today would have been my first official day for work. Thank God for 28 annual leave days for I sure am not ready to go back. I cant remember how I had felt the last 3 times my maternity leave ended but I think it was much worse with Sarah where I had only 3 months leave compared to the 4 months now.  I felt so cheated I found out that 3 months meant exactly that 90 days, with the public holidays and weekends included, which translated to a much shorter leave.

The'thought of going back to work fills me with dread. No more days guided by the baby's daily routine and the older girls' various issues... although I would have to say the older girls' issues are something I could do without!