Sassy mouth

Jolie is reaching an age where, sometimes, I don't know how to react to the thibgs she says. Sometimes I don't know if I want to be mad or laugh out loud at the things she say.



She's also very bossy and would always lecture the adults, even when she's wrong! That really pisses me off sometimes. Like the other day, she opened the window while we were in the taxi. I scolded her and asked her not to do that it was raining. In response, (grumble, grumble, grumble. ...)"...mama! Why you make me so mad!!" -_-

I think she learnt to speak like that because of me. When she's lecturing people, she sounded just like me when I'm lecturing her. I know people would say things like "you should be mindful of what you say in front of a child... blah blah blah..." But how!? She's always pushing my buttons with the things she say. Like shouting at her elders, screaming that we were not listening when she's the one who doesn't listen. She would talk angrily and rudely, I would lecture her like any parent would, and in turn she would learn and lecture everyone else, including me. Then I would lecture her again. It's like a vicious cycle! Ahh! I always think back on how quiet and timid I was as a child and wonder why she's not like me. Back then, even if you are right, you keep quiet because you respect your elders! Now, even elders have to give in to this bossy, outspoken little princess no matter how much I lecture and nag. Sigh! But I guess being an outspoken person isn't a bad thing right? :P

There were also moments where she would melt our hearts, like she would whisper "I love you mama" when you least expected it, and it would make us go "awww..." My favorites ones are when she would present us with the strangest love tokens. Just as I was posting this, Jo came out of her room and presented a toy hotdog for her dad and said "papa, I give you this hotdog because I love you." Cobby was so amused and touched and boasted to me, "see? I got hotdog. You have or not? Don't have right? Haha!" Only a parent can appreciate the importance of receiving a masak hotdog from a 4 year old girl...

To wrap things up, a scene from the movie The Back Up Plan always stuck in my mind, as it is a perfect balance of funny and realistic description of parenthood. watch.

Jayden's 1st trip to the zoo

It's Jolie's school holiday, so we planned to go to the zoo. She actually wanted to go to the Bird Park, but just so happen that Cobby had sent the car to be repainted, so we had to take public transport. I was nervous about traveling too far with jayden in toll, so I suggested that we go to the zoo instead.  After all, I haven't seen the Pandas yet!

So with 2 bags, one baby and one toddler, we were off! Im sure Jayden wouldn't sit in his pram, so we opt for the baby harness instead. It turned out to be a great choice as Cobby got to carry Jayden without him screaming his head off. In fact, he even dozed off a few times while we strolled along.

The weather was SOOOOO hot! Most of the animals were either napping or hiding from the afternoon sun. The pandas were adorable as expected,  even when sleeping. I love Pandas! Kaikai was napping outside in the most cute position while shy Jiajia napped in the comforts of her room. If I wasn't there with the kids, I would have bought ALL the souvenirs! So cute!

After lunch its so hot, so we headed to the water play area and let Jolie go crazy. If it wasn't for Jayden,  I would have jumped in too! But I had to breastfeed, so I just watched with envy! After awhile the lifeguards chase everyone out of the water due to lightning fears. Cobby was secretly glad as he was worried how to get her to leave the place! Haha...

It was threatening to rain, so we headed to the exit. Just as expected,  it started to pour as we waited for a taxi. It was more like a freaking thunderstorm! Kids were screaming as the thunder and lightning tore up the sky and the rain poured down like mad.

Thankfully we didn't wait long before getting a cab. So we headed home, tired but glad. Think about it, we didn't do much, but 5-6hours had just went by. Think its like that when you have kids. Everything takes longer to get done! But important thing is that Jolie had fun. Jayden? Don't think he bothered. Haha... perhaps he'll enjoy it more in another few more years.

Jolie Princess

Time flies. Our little Jolie Princess is 4 years old this year. I remembered that my parents used to worry if she would end up being a 'tom boy' as she didnt like to wear dresses or skirts, didn't like to tie her hair and loves activities such as soccer, skateboard,  scooter and anything involving running, climbing and jumping.

Well, she still loves to do all of those stuff that would give her grandma a heart attack, but she has also developed a softer, more girlie side. Now she loves to wear dresses, tie her hair and like many girls her age, has developed a Princess obsession.

She loves to dress up like a Princess, so she would tie a blanket around her waist, wear grown up heels and parade around, announcing that she is a beautiful princess. She loved to wear make up too! I don't let her wear mine cause I think its bad for her skin, but both her doting grandmas would let her. -_- So she would stand in front of the dresser and pat pat pat her face with the puff. She doesn't put much, you can't see any make up actually, but she would pose and fish for compliments after she finish.



My mom, being the doting grandma, even bought some fabric and made her 2 skirts so that she can play dress up. Jolie was ecstatic, and after awhile, came up with in idea to wear one and put the other on her head and pretended to have beautiful long pink hair. Funny!

It's strange isn't it? How girls would just naturally develop this vain streak. Now even at home she would demand to wear her pretty dresses, knowing full well that everyone would gasp in adoration,  exclaiming how pretty she look. It may seem silly, but if it makes her happy, why not? Besides, they grow up so fast, before long, they would have outgrown their dresses and outgrow their innocent obsessions too. I say let them play dress up, cause I'll be sad the day they find it silly.

Holiday Baking class!

I didn't want Jolie to just sit around the house the whole week, so I signed up Jolie and I for a baking class. We could always bake at home, but I thought it would be a great opportunity for Jolie and I to spend some quality time alone outside the house and away from Jayden.

We found out about the class from the SmartKids exhibition and I was sold when they told me that one of the locations was at Sembawang Shopping Centre. So near my home! Perfect! So on Wednesday I got my mom to come over to watch Jayden while Jolie and I headed out.

When we got there they dressed us up in aprons and the kids even got a baker's hat! So cute! Wished they would provide one for me too but its only for kids. :P envious... There was 11 people in class, including us and most of them were in pairs of Mommy and daughter or sisters. Only one little girl came alone. Wonder why aren't there any boys interested in baking?

Anyway the cute little girl next to us came alone, so we chat with her and Jolie immediately made another friend. :)

The class was quite fun and the recipe was quite simple, but it took longer then expected and I got a little stressed as I didn't know if Jayden's alright with my Mom. But I thought, there's nothing I could do anyway, so I just tried to enjoy myself and have fun with my Jolie. Nearing the end of the class I noticed the Daddies hoovering outside the classroom window, and I quietly wished that Cobby could join us too. Unfortunately he had to work, so we just have to do something else together another time.

I would definitely recommend this class to little kids and parents! It's fun and best of all, we didn't have to clean up after that. Hahaha... After lunch we headed home and I found my mom asleep in Jayden's room. Turned out that Jayden did give mom a hard time, so I felt a little guilty. But at the same time felt very grateful to have spent a few hours with my girl, definitely worth it.

Check it out! Genius R Us

Everyone's got problems

When I was a little girl, I would sometimes wish that I was a bird. (A sparrow specifically, they're cuter.) Somehow it seems like life is easier being a little bird. No school, no homework, no chores, just flying around freely. How nice!

When I grow up I realized that even cute little birdies have problems too. They too have to stress about finding food, mate, caring for their young and on top of that, try not to get eaten by a cat. So I guess everyone's got their own set of problems.

I invite alot of envy when people know that I'm a stay home mom. Yes, undeniably, its awesome that I get to be with my babies and be there to watch them grow. But it really piss me off when some envy me for not needing to "work". I work all day and all night. I cook, clean and care for my kids and husband. I work all the time ok.

I don't mind really, but I in turn really envy those working moms. Its like they get the best of both worlds. They get to use their brains and work, hang out with friends and at the end of the day, enjoy time with their kids. But I understand that sometimes it really sucks to be at work too. Hey, I've been there.

Last time, before kids, when the weeks fly by quickly, I would sometimes get this panic in my belly. It would feel like my life's passing by and I'm wasting it away doing stupid meaningless admin work. I would think that maybe I should do something interesting like bungee jumping or something.  Now, the panicky feeling is gone. Instead, I would feel good at the end of a week. I've survived another week and the end result is that my 2 beautiful babies are happy, healthy and 1 week older.

What I'm trying to say is that everyone's got problems. Nobody's life is better or worse than the other. I guess we just have to focus on the good stuff.

Jayden at 4 months

The other day I was outside throwing rubbish when a neighbour saw me carrying Jayden in my arms. She asked if he's 2months yet. Huh? He's already 4 months! She was surprised and commented how time flies as it felt not long ago since I gave birth to Jayden.

When I got back into the house I reflected on how true her comment was. It does seemed like Jayden was born not too long ago, and its amazing how 4 whole months just fly by like that. 4 months! That's more than a quarter of a year gone!!

I was so busy juggling 2 kids that I didn't even have time to blog. Now my number 1 priority are my kids and sleeping became my number 2 priority. So any decision making would be made based on those rules. For example:
should I do the chores or sleep? Sleep.
Should I blog or sleep? Sleep.
So explains my lack of updates... sounds boring but its the means to survival people!

But I do thank my lucky stars to be blessed with this bundle of joy as my 2nd kid. Because apart from the usual challenges of taking take of a normal baby, he is considered a very easy baby as compared to his sister. I'll talk about that more in future posts. Now a quick update of his status.

4 months:
7.3kg 65cm
Flipped on 21 feb 2013