Teacher told Mom yesterday that Inez has a group of friends, including Zeti and they are mainly new students. That's good to know, I think. She also had an unknown eraser belonging to a certain Herr Rong, which was about1 inch wide and had a faded picture of Nemo on it. When I asked her why exactly is it she who is having the eraser, she answered that Herr Rong doesn't want it anymore and a girl gave it to her and she doesn't know why. Okay....
And Ja, I finally popped the question and as expected, Inez is English! Mika is English! Mimi is English! Zeti is English! Yay! We are all English! Of course I had to tell her the truth that she's quarter Malay, quarter Chinese, quarter Javanese and quarter Banjar. Mika too. Mimi would be quarter Malay, quarter Chinese, quarter Indian and quarter Bugis. Naqib too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, Ja! Anyway, no English! We are not English, we only speak English.
But this is normal. It happens to any child growing up speaking English. My mom tells me that I used to think that I was English too. Actually we speak sometimes Rojak English at home. So once at a restaurant, we couldn't finish the food, so we asked my brother to get the waiter to doggy bag the food. We waited and waited and waited. No waiter came to pack the food we wanted packed. So we confronted no.4 and asked him what exactly he told the waiter. No.4 said, "I said, 'nak ta -pau ah'."
A-hah no wonder no waiter came!
So no.4 kena bambu laa. "What language do you think you were using?"
I so cannot recall whether he thought it was Malay or English, but he certainly didn't think he was speaking Cantonese. Finally we got him to tell the waiter to 'bungkus' the food, baru laa dapat service bagus skit.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Mika's first homework
I know. I know. It's been days again since my last post. Lately I have been lazy actually. I know that Mumsgather sez that everything is bloggable but sometimes I don't know what to write or where to start. In the end, you only write what you can. So today, I have decided to write about Mika getting his first homework.
The background
Apparently, we've just found out that whilst others go for computer class, my son has been left to play with toys on his own. No wonder he doesn't want to go to school. He feels left out. So remiss of me. Since he played on the computer at home sometimes, when hubby allows it, we figured he didn't need classes. They are anti-social enuf as it is, why encourage them further by introducing them to the computer and all the doors the computer can open? I already see my children addicted to the computer 3 years from now. Who needs real flesh and blood friends? We've got our ol' faithful, the computer. We can play online computer games and kill, kill, kill! Get my drift, right? So we decided that it'd be better for us coz it's cheaper not to have our kids go for computer lessons.
One day, mom took kids to school. Mika looked sad. Teacher asked him in front of his nana if he had told her about wanting to join computer classes. Mika in effect atually did but somehow sort of botch up his request by stating rather than asking.
"Mika play computer," Mika announced one day - some days back.
In hindsight, that was actually Mika probably trying to say that he wants to play computer at school. There we were thinking, how nice of the teacher to include our darling boy coz we didn't enrol him for computer classes.
So we decided to ask Mikael some investigative questions. Is it true that he was really sad that he couldn't get into computer class or was it just a ploy by kindy teachers to get us parents to spend more than we can afford to?
Us (hubby and me): Do you want to go to computer class?
Mika: *nods* with sad face
Us: How many of you are there in your class?
Mika: Five! *shows one hand, all five fingers up*
Us: So when they go for computer class, how many of you don't go?
Mika: Two!
Us thinking: Hey, teacher sez he's the only one left out! maybe he doesn't understand the question.
Us: Mika, how many of you play with toys when others are learning computer?
Mika: *shows two fingers*
Us: Two? Who?
Mika: *points to himself*
Us: Does Jungle boy learn computer?
Mika: *nods*
Us: So who else doesn't learn computer?
Mika: *points away from him, to the back twds his room*
Us: Inez?!
Poor kids!
My God! How blurred we were. I didn't know that for computer classes, they combined the classes. Of course Inez and Mika would be the only two who didn't have to go for computer lessons, coz we didn't sign them up! i'm afraid my sense of humour got the better of me and I started laughing. Oh poor poor kids. My hubby also felt bad and guilty. Immediately, he turned to me to say, "sign them up, on me." (you see my hubby pays for all the other stuff, utilities, cars, groceries, house; and me, I pay also for some groceries, phone bills, the house, but mainly the children's education is on me.) We called Inez out for confirmation. Inez confirmed Mika's answers.
Us: Mika, do you want to learn computer?
Mika: Yes!
Us: Inez, do you also want to learn computer?
Inez: Yes.
So that settled it and yesterday, Mika officially was enrolled for computer lessons and brought back his first homework. It was yesterday I discovered the difference between Inez and Mikael.
Mika's first homework
When I got back from work, Inez showed me Mika's book and said that Mika had homework. Mika himself was nearby, overheard Inez and said, "Yay!" Homework was a picture of a computer and above it was written COMPUTER in dotted lines. Mika's task was to trace the dotted lines and colour the picture.
He came over, took the book from us and immediately started colouring. Mom came out with two bottles of milk, and expected the two kids to start drinking. Inez, being her usual obsessive compulsive self, went in search for some tissue paper to wipe the bottle dry and Mika continued to colour, said, "But Mika got to finish this."
After about a minute, thirst or hunger got the better of him , coz then he said, "Mika got to drink milk too," then proceeded to drink his milk. After which he continued his colouring, finished it and went on to play with his toys. No help from me except to sharpen his colour pencil. The boy has finished his homework! In about 5 to 10 minutes tops! I couldn't believe it! If only Inez was like that.
Inez
Inez on the other hand struggled to finish her homework last night and it turned out that she didn't feel well. She slept halfway through her work. When my hubby carried her, he said she was warm. I checked and yes, she was a little warm. By 3 a.m., she came whimpering to our room. Her body was burning hot. Gave her wet rubs and this went on until subuh. By 6 both kids were up and wanted milk. I thought of taking her to the clinic, but by the time I was ready and she was ready, her temperature went down. So in the end told her that she'd have to go for F.Ain and maybe to clinic later, if her temp went up again. Poor darling started crying because she didn't finish her homework. Inez, inez, can't blame her though coz she was under the weather.
But my Mom talked to her teacher yesterday and told the teacher about Inez's trauma with homework and explained that Inez also goes to a morning school. So the teacher said that it's okay if she didn't finish coz she could come in early and finish it in school. Mom says, how to, because she'd be chasing after Mika, and by the time, he's ready, it's lucky that they are even there on time. The teacher understands. Apparently, as reluctant as Mika is to go to school, he's also reluctant to leave, the teachers in fact have to chase him around school to catch him to get him into the car! Sigh! Poor Mom, got to deal with Mikael and Inez.
The background
Apparently, we've just found out that whilst others go for computer class, my son has been left to play with toys on his own. No wonder he doesn't want to go to school. He feels left out. So remiss of me. Since he played on the computer at home sometimes, when hubby allows it, we figured he didn't need classes. They are anti-social enuf as it is, why encourage them further by introducing them to the computer and all the doors the computer can open? I already see my children addicted to the computer 3 years from now. Who needs real flesh and blood friends? We've got our ol' faithful, the computer. We can play online computer games and kill, kill, kill! Get my drift, right? So we decided that it'd be better for us coz it's cheaper not to have our kids go for computer lessons.
One day, mom took kids to school. Mika looked sad. Teacher asked him in front of his nana if he had told her about wanting to join computer classes. Mika in effect atually did but somehow sort of botch up his request by stating rather than asking.
"Mika play computer," Mika announced one day - some days back.
In hindsight, that was actually Mika probably trying to say that he wants to play computer at school. There we were thinking, how nice of the teacher to include our darling boy coz we didn't enrol him for computer classes.
So we decided to ask Mikael some investigative questions. Is it true that he was really sad that he couldn't get into computer class or was it just a ploy by kindy teachers to get us parents to spend more than we can afford to?
Us (hubby and me): Do you want to go to computer class?
Mika: *nods* with sad face
Us: How many of you are there in your class?
Mika: Five! *shows one hand, all five fingers up*
Us: So when they go for computer class, how many of you don't go?
Mika: Two!
Us thinking: Hey, teacher sez he's the only one left out! maybe he doesn't understand the question.
Us: Mika, how many of you play with toys when others are learning computer?
Mika: *shows two fingers*
Us: Two? Who?
Mika: *points to himself*
Us: Does Jungle boy learn computer?
Mika: *nods*
Us: So who else doesn't learn computer?
Mika: *points away from him, to the back twds his room*
Us: Inez?!
Poor kids!
My God! How blurred we were. I didn't know that for computer classes, they combined the classes. Of course Inez and Mika would be the only two who didn't have to go for computer lessons, coz we didn't sign them up! i'm afraid my sense of humour got the better of me and I started laughing. Oh poor poor kids. My hubby also felt bad and guilty. Immediately, he turned to me to say, "sign them up, on me." (you see my hubby pays for all the other stuff, utilities, cars, groceries, house; and me, I pay also for some groceries, phone bills, the house, but mainly the children's education is on me.) We called Inez out for confirmation. Inez confirmed Mika's answers.
Us: Mika, do you want to learn computer?
Mika: Yes!
Us: Inez, do you also want to learn computer?
Inez: Yes.
So that settled it and yesterday, Mika officially was enrolled for computer lessons and brought back his first homework. It was yesterday I discovered the difference between Inez and Mikael.
Mika's first homework
When I got back from work, Inez showed me Mika's book and said that Mika had homework. Mika himself was nearby, overheard Inez and said, "Yay!" Homework was a picture of a computer and above it was written COMPUTER in dotted lines. Mika's task was to trace the dotted lines and colour the picture.
He came over, took the book from us and immediately started colouring. Mom came out with two bottles of milk, and expected the two kids to start drinking. Inez, being her usual obsessive compulsive self, went in search for some tissue paper to wipe the bottle dry and Mika continued to colour, said, "But Mika got to finish this."
After about a minute, thirst or hunger got the better of him , coz then he said, "Mika got to drink milk too," then proceeded to drink his milk. After which he continued his colouring, finished it and went on to play with his toys. No help from me except to sharpen his colour pencil. The boy has finished his homework! In about 5 to 10 minutes tops! I couldn't believe it! If only Inez was like that.
Inez
Inez on the other hand struggled to finish her homework last night and it turned out that she didn't feel well. She slept halfway through her work. When my hubby carried her, he said she was warm. I checked and yes, she was a little warm. By 3 a.m., she came whimpering to our room. Her body was burning hot. Gave her wet rubs and this went on until subuh. By 6 both kids were up and wanted milk. I thought of taking her to the clinic, but by the time I was ready and she was ready, her temperature went down. So in the end told her that she'd have to go for F.Ain and maybe to clinic later, if her temp went up again. Poor darling started crying because she didn't finish her homework. Inez, inez, can't blame her though coz she was under the weather.
But my Mom talked to her teacher yesterday and told the teacher about Inez's trauma with homework and explained that Inez also goes to a morning school. So the teacher said that it's okay if she didn't finish coz she could come in early and finish it in school. Mom says, how to, because she'd be chasing after Mika, and by the time, he's ready, it's lucky that they are even there on time. The teacher understands. Apparently, as reluctant as Mika is to go to school, he's also reluctant to leave, the teachers in fact have to chase him around school to catch him to get him into the car! Sigh! Poor Mom, got to deal with Mikael and Inez.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Lost and Found
I have been wanting to write this entry for a long while now but I think this is the right time as support to Flowerin who recently nearly lost her youngest daughter, Jazz. Rin, I guess it could happen to the best of us. I suppose it's also a lesson to all moms to never ASSUME. It's really embarrassing how I lost Mika. I feel so responsible about it. We had actually all left the building already. Only Mika was still in the building. I assumed that Mika was with my husband. And he assumed that Mika was with me. Mika was 2 or nearly 2 at that time. I don't really remember. All I know was that he wasn't 3 yet. The thought is horrifying, isn't it?
I took my Mom, Ina the maid, my kids: Inez and Mika, as well as Mimi and Naqib who were still staying with us in Kuantan at that time, to Berjaya Megamall. Then my husband joined us, so each of us took a child. Ina had Naqib, Mom had Mimi, I was holding Mika and my hubby was holding Inez. Just imagine ya, 4 adults and 4 kids, yet we can still manage to lose one. We were on the way out but biasalaa sebelum keluar tu, singgah here and there. When the shop didn't have what I wanted, I told the rest to proceed to the car while I checked out one last shop. Somehow, when I left that last shop we were ALL together at, I took Inez with me, not Mika. I figured that my hubby would take Mika seeing that Mika did not accompany me. Then I caught up with them outside Megamall some minutes later. My hubby had come in his own car, so when Ina, I think, or was it my mom, asked about Mika's whereabouts, I confidently answered that Mika was with my hubby. I didn't expect Mika and his daddy to not be with each other.
"Are you sure?" my mom asked.
"I was quite sure but I called my hubby up anyway only to be told that Mika wasn't with him. I really thought he was trying to pull one over me. Tipu! I couldn't believe he didn't have Mika! Then where was Mika?
I tell you, it was horrible. There I was, assuming that Mika was with my hubby and there was my hubby, assuming that Mika was with me and the reason why we didn't realise it earlier was because we came in different cars. (Luckily he was parked just outside the back entrance). So then, all of us sprung into action - we ran back into Berjaya Megamall. While my mom ran to announce a missing child, I went to the last shop we were ALL at. My husband had the same idea. Since he ran in first, he got to Mika first. Luckily Mika was there and surprisingly he wasn't crying. I arrived just seconds after him. The girls at the shop were doing their best not to alarm him into crying. I think he must have been lost for about 5 to 10 minutes by the time we got to him. Luckily he didn't wander off from that shop. My mom was in tears by the time we got through her handphone to tell her we've found Mika.
I guess my hubby thought I had both of them coz Mika had gone to the back of the shop and somehow didn't realise when everyone left without him. According to the shopgirls, he looked as if he wanted to cry a few times but he didn't. I think he knew he was left behind because he hugged us so tightly after that.
Do you know what scares me? We could have left him there and would not have known that we'd left him until we arrived home. That's 30 minutes! Luckily, luckily, God willing, someone asked about Mika. I cannot imagine what would have happened to him if we hadn't realised it sooner? But I am not going to drive myself crazy doing that. I thank God that we realised it and got him back, and pray that it would never ever happen again. I don't think it's a mistake that could happen to anyone, just me. I hope no one else would go through the same hell we did thinking we'd lost Mika! I tell you, the thought of having lost Mika lingered for some time....It was real nightmare!
I took my Mom, Ina the maid, my kids: Inez and Mika, as well as Mimi and Naqib who were still staying with us in Kuantan at that time, to Berjaya Megamall. Then my husband joined us, so each of us took a child. Ina had Naqib, Mom had Mimi, I was holding Mika and my hubby was holding Inez. Just imagine ya, 4 adults and 4 kids, yet we can still manage to lose one. We were on the way out but biasalaa sebelum keluar tu, singgah here and there. When the shop didn't have what I wanted, I told the rest to proceed to the car while I checked out one last shop. Somehow, when I left that last shop we were ALL together at, I took Inez with me, not Mika. I figured that my hubby would take Mika seeing that Mika did not accompany me. Then I caught up with them outside Megamall some minutes later. My hubby had come in his own car, so when Ina, I think, or was it my mom, asked about Mika's whereabouts, I confidently answered that Mika was with my hubby. I didn't expect Mika and his daddy to not be with each other.
"Are you sure?" my mom asked.
"I was quite sure but I called my hubby up anyway only to be told that Mika wasn't with him. I really thought he was trying to pull one over me. Tipu! I couldn't believe he didn't have Mika! Then where was Mika?
I tell you, it was horrible. There I was, assuming that Mika was with my hubby and there was my hubby, assuming that Mika was with me and the reason why we didn't realise it earlier was because we came in different cars. (Luckily he was parked just outside the back entrance). So then, all of us sprung into action - we ran back into Berjaya Megamall. While my mom ran to announce a missing child, I went to the last shop we were ALL at. My husband had the same idea. Since he ran in first, he got to Mika first. Luckily Mika was there and surprisingly he wasn't crying. I arrived just seconds after him. The girls at the shop were doing their best not to alarm him into crying. I think he must have been lost for about 5 to 10 minutes by the time we got to him. Luckily he didn't wander off from that shop. My mom was in tears by the time we got through her handphone to tell her we've found Mika.
I guess my hubby thought I had both of them coz Mika had gone to the back of the shop and somehow didn't realise when everyone left without him. According to the shopgirls, he looked as if he wanted to cry a few times but he didn't. I think he knew he was left behind because he hugged us so tightly after that.
Do you know what scares me? We could have left him there and would not have known that we'd left him until we arrived home. That's 30 minutes! Luckily, luckily, God willing, someone asked about Mika. I cannot imagine what would have happened to him if we hadn't realised it sooner? But I am not going to drive myself crazy doing that. I thank God that we realised it and got him back, and pray that it would never ever happen again. I don't think it's a mistake that could happen to anyone, just me. I hope no one else would go through the same hell we did thinking we'd lost Mika! I tell you, the thought of having lost Mika lingered for some time....It was real nightmare!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Inez's new friend
I am happy to announce that Inez has a friend in school and her name is Zeti. Zeti apparently can speak English and therefore converse with Inez at school. I asked her about Yan Yan. She said that she didn't quite like Yan Yan. "Why?" I asked.
"Did Yan Yan like to borrow stuff without asking? Push Inez around? Rude? What?"
Inez said that she just didn't like talking to Yan Yan. What do kids talk about to each other?
Someone told me that somebody's son came home and asked his mother about 'sunat' or circumcision.
Son: Ma, sunat kan, potong ngan laser yer, ma? Laser macam Star Wars ke? Pas tu kan, kat kampung kan, potong ngan pisau potong ayam ke, ma?
Translated means Mom, you know circumcision, is it done with laser? Is it the same kind of lase like in Star Wars (u'know, from the sword). And then Ma, in the rural areas, do they circumsize with the knife that is used to cut chicken?
Mom asked son where he got such information from, to which he answered, from school. LOL
Interesting huh? Anyway, I asked Inez if she knew the girl's name in her F. Ain class. She said she didn't.
Me: Can she speak English?
Inez: No.
Me: So do you speak to her in Malay?
Inez: No.
Me: So how do you guys talk to each other?
Inez: She calls me in English.
Me: How?
Inez: she just says, "Inez! Inez!"
LOL. I tell her that her name is the same whatever the language. :)
"Did Yan Yan like to borrow stuff without asking? Push Inez around? Rude? What?"
Inez said that she just didn't like talking to Yan Yan. What do kids talk about to each other?
Someone told me that somebody's son came home and asked his mother about 'sunat' or circumcision.
Son: Ma, sunat kan, potong ngan laser yer, ma? Laser macam Star Wars ke? Pas tu kan, kat kampung kan, potong ngan pisau potong ayam ke, ma?
Translated means Mom, you know circumcision, is it done with laser? Is it the same kind of lase like in Star Wars (u'know, from the sword). And then Ma, in the rural areas, do they circumsize with the knife that is used to cut chicken?
Mom asked son where he got such information from, to which he answered, from school. LOL
Interesting huh? Anyway, I asked Inez if she knew the girl's name in her F. Ain class. She said she didn't.
Me: Can she speak English?
Inez: No.
Me: So do you speak to her in Malay?
Inez: No.
Me: So how do you guys talk to each other?
Inez: She calls me in English.
Me: How?
Inez: she just says, "Inez! Inez!"
LOL. I tell her that her name is the same whatever the language. :)
Raining Cats and Dogs
This morning was just awful. The moment I opened the gates to leave the house, it started drizzling. The winds were strong and it kept blowing the gates close but I managed to reverse my car out but dreaded the idea of locking up. The rain suddenly got heavier. Having left the umbrella at work, I made a run for it with my hubby's jacket over my head. Poor butt was right under the edge of the porch where the raindrops were larger and wetter. Got into the car, called my mom ahead to prepare her for my kids. Decided on the way there that I'd send Inez for her Fardhu Ain class so that my parents didn't have to send her in the rain. Called Mom again to prepare her F. Ain things and raincoat.
Just before we left my mom's. We discovered that Inez didn't pass her school bag to my dad when he collected Mika from the car and I was collecting her F.Ain stuff. My dad had already taken Mika and locked up. No dad to protect me from the rain with his huge golf umbrella. Made another mad dash in the rain. By the time I got into the car, I was more than 3/4 wet. The front of my skirt was wet, my butt was wet and you can imagine what else got wet as well. I had to turn the air-cond on, or the car would fog up. So the whole time driving, I was shivering and uncomfortable. I had a long way more to go. Huuuh, work was a 50 minute drive.
So after sending Mika, I sent Inez to her Fardhu Ain class. Girl wore a raincoat, so I figured that I didn't have to walk in the rain with her to send her to the door. There was a car parked to my right and the last I checked, nobody was in the car. So I told Inez to walk as quick as she could to her class which meant passing the back of that car. Inez, I hate to say it, is a bit obsessive compulsive (you know like that Jack Nicholson's character in the movie As Good As It Gets) and was walking so slowly because she didn't want to get her slippers wet. I opened my car door a little to tell her to run and to my horror, the car to my right started to reverse. My heart nearly stopped. "When did the driver get into the car? Couldn't she see a little girl in fire-engine red raincoat was behind her car?" I guess she did coz she stopped and luckily for us all, my silly daughter thought I was calling her and she walked back to me, Thank God! Not as fast as I wished though, she was still worried about her slippers and then only, the car proceeded to back out of the driveway. I dunno how loud I was but by that time, the teacher from school came out with an umbrella and took my Inez to the classroom. Omigod, I nearly lost her. Maybe I should've come out with her but at that time, it didn't seem like a good idea and there was nobody in the ca, and my daughter was wearing her raincoat. I guess my attention was so focused on Inez making her way on snail's pace to the across the driveway that I didn't realise the driver had gotten back into the car. If I'd foreseen the danger, I would've gone out but I didn't. Luckily, it was only a near death experience and not a fatal one. As Mika likes to say a lot these days, "Alhamdullillah". Thank God nothing happened.
Just before we left my mom's. We discovered that Inez didn't pass her school bag to my dad when he collected Mika from the car and I was collecting her F.Ain stuff. My dad had already taken Mika and locked up. No dad to protect me from the rain with his huge golf umbrella. Made another mad dash in the rain. By the time I got into the car, I was more than 3/4 wet. The front of my skirt was wet, my butt was wet and you can imagine what else got wet as well. I had to turn the air-cond on, or the car would fog up. So the whole time driving, I was shivering and uncomfortable. I had a long way more to go. Huuuh, work was a 50 minute drive.
So after sending Mika, I sent Inez to her Fardhu Ain class. Girl wore a raincoat, so I figured that I didn't have to walk in the rain with her to send her to the door. There was a car parked to my right and the last I checked, nobody was in the car. So I told Inez to walk as quick as she could to her class which meant passing the back of that car. Inez, I hate to say it, is a bit obsessive compulsive (you know like that Jack Nicholson's character in the movie As Good As It Gets) and was walking so slowly because she didn't want to get her slippers wet. I opened my car door a little to tell her to run and to my horror, the car to my right started to reverse. My heart nearly stopped. "When did the driver get into the car? Couldn't she see a little girl in fire-engine red raincoat was behind her car?" I guess she did coz she stopped and luckily for us all, my silly daughter thought I was calling her and she walked back to me, Thank God! Not as fast as I wished though, she was still worried about her slippers and then only, the car proceeded to back out of the driveway. I dunno how loud I was but by that time, the teacher from school came out with an umbrella and took my Inez to the classroom. Omigod, I nearly lost her. Maybe I should've come out with her but at that time, it didn't seem like a good idea and there was nobody in the ca, and my daughter was wearing her raincoat. I guess my attention was so focused on Inez making her way on snail's pace to the across the driveway that I didn't realise the driver had gotten back into the car. If I'd foreseen the danger, I would've gone out but I didn't. Luckily, it was only a near death experience and not a fatal one. As Mika likes to say a lot these days, "Alhamdullillah". Thank God nothing happened.
The School from Sesame Street vs. the School We Go To
The children were watching Playhouse Disney and Sesame Street was on, and it was about how much kids enjoyed going to school. So my mom figured that if she showed my kids how much these kids liked school, my kids would love school as much. Hahaha nyesal mak I! Why?
I don't remember the order, but they showed the kids playing at their school playground on very expensive and well maintained playground equipment (which my children's school don't have); then they showed the kids going into the classroom playing expensive looking toys (which I am not too certain if my kids' school has) and then the kids go to sleep and rest (which I don't think is allowed but they do make allowances for Mikael, who has slept in school 3 times and probably has some pillows named after him). Do you know what Inez said? I don't like school because there's so much homework!"
I don't remember the order, but they showed the kids playing at their school playground on very expensive and well maintained playground equipment (which my children's school don't have); then they showed the kids going into the classroom playing expensive looking toys (which I am not too certain if my kids' school has) and then the kids go to sleep and rest (which I don't think is allowed but they do make allowances for Mikael, who has slept in school 3 times and probably has some pillows named after him). Do you know what Inez said? I don't like school because there's so much homework!"
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Binoculars
It all happened the weekend my brother came down from KL with his wife and we visited his in-laws in Kemaman. Everybody met up at my brother's sister in law's home for tea before all of us went out for dinner together. My brother treated.
Mika and Inez played with Fahim, who brought out all his toys of cars, planes, trains, and dinosaurs and a pair of binoculars which didn't seem to interest Mika until we were about to leave. Mika wanted to bring it home with him and we explained to him in the car that he can't go round taking people's toys. Imagine if other kids did that to him and wanted to take away his toys?
Mika was silent for a while before he said, "Why don't Daddy buy one?"
After much explaining that his Daddy didn't have money to get him one, not even a cheap one, we thought the matter was closed. Over.
Last Saturday, when Inez was in Art Class, (I was at work), Mom took Mika to Megamall. Right between KFC and McD was a toy booth and Mika went up to the salesgirl and asked her, "Do you have binoculars?"
The girl looked blankly at him.
"A binoculars is something so you can see very far," he explained patiently to her.
The girl went to the boy at the counter and asked him about it, obviously, not understanding what Mika was saying. The boy said that they didn't sell binoculars.
"Oh," went Mika and then went the car area and sweet talked my mom into buying him a car.
"Can you buy me a car, Nana?"
"But Nana doesn't have $$$."
"But Atuk has."
I can't remember what else Mika said to my mom but whatever it was, it got him a yellow convertible that day.
Just now, Mom phoned to say that my son is now asking her to get him a remote control helicopter. Wahahahaha.
Mika and Inez played with Fahim, who brought out all his toys of cars, planes, trains, and dinosaurs and a pair of binoculars which didn't seem to interest Mika until we were about to leave. Mika wanted to bring it home with him and we explained to him in the car that he can't go round taking people's toys. Imagine if other kids did that to him and wanted to take away his toys?
Mika was silent for a while before he said, "Why don't Daddy buy one?"
After much explaining that his Daddy didn't have money to get him one, not even a cheap one, we thought the matter was closed. Over.
Last Saturday, when Inez was in Art Class, (I was at work), Mom took Mika to Megamall. Right between KFC and McD was a toy booth and Mika went up to the salesgirl and asked her, "Do you have binoculars?"
The girl looked blankly at him.
"A binoculars is something so you can see very far," he explained patiently to her.
The girl went to the boy at the counter and asked him about it, obviously, not understanding what Mika was saying. The boy said that they didn't sell binoculars.
"Oh," went Mika and then went the car area and sweet talked my mom into buying him a car.
"Can you buy me a car, Nana?"
"But Nana doesn't have $$$."
"But Atuk has."
I can't remember what else Mika said to my mom but whatever it was, it got him a yellow convertible that day.
Just now, Mom phoned to say that my son is now asking her to get him a remote control helicopter. Wahahahaha.
More school stories........
It's been such a long time since my last post that I swear I momentarily forgot how to sign in. It was only about a second though. LOL
It's been a crazy 2 weeks. Busy at work and busy at home. Please note that stories are not in chronological order, but in the order I remember them.
The sleep deprived mom and the homework trauma
That's what I am for the past week since Inez started school. In order for her to finish her work, we have to sit with her. Last Friday and Saturday, I had to work (yes, even on Ma'al Hijrah), so I totally forgot abt her h/w. Only on Sunday night, she conveniently remembered that she had h/w and her books were at my Mom's. Luckily for her, my hubby was going there for some reason I forget now, he brought home her books for her.
Needless to say, she fell asleep halfway through her work but woke up at 5:30 on Monday morning to do her homework! I applaud her for her sense of responsibility but guess who got to be awake to accompany her to do her work? Cest moi! And how much can moi accomplish if moi too got to get ready for work? Not much laa!
It takes her forever especially when it comes to writing Mandarin characters. So you can imagine how much progress she had from 5:30 to 7:30. I prepared her for school so that she could continue doing her work at her Nana's before going for her Fardhu Ain classes and her daddy sent the kids to my Mom's. I told him to help his daughter pack her bag but poor guy got his own things to put in the car besides his kids and so, Inez only took with her the book she was working on and the other 101 homework was on the carpet. When she arrived at my Mom's she was crying that she didn't have all her books! I was in the midst of getting ready for work, already later than I wanted to be, had to make a detour to my Mom's. All's well ends well? Hah!
I received a call from my Mom telling me Inez hadn't finished her homework and had been crying inconsolably until my mom promised her that she'd personally explain to the teacher. Suddenly, that promise sort of freed her from the pressure of doing her homework coz suddenly she stopped. Such a sneaky child, that one.
Mika on the other hand went into hiding when it was time to go to school, and only decided to go to school when my dad threatened to lock him in the toilet. When it's time to leave school, it wasn't easy either to get him to leave coz he had friends to play with. According to Mom, when she sent them to school, Jungle Boy rushed out from the inside to greet Mika. Isn't that nice? :)
Anyway, when Inez came back from school that day, of course she had new homework on top of the ones she didn't finish. The reward for finishing all her homework would be a cup of ice-cream. Understandably, being tired, she was sleeping halfway through doing her homework again. Poor child, by 9:30, she was out like a light.
As I was getting ready for sleep, Inez woke up, she wanted ice-cream. I checked the clock, it was 12:44 in the morning. Crazy girl wanted to eat ice-cream at 12:44 in the morning! I said, "NO!" because she had to do her homework first. My hubby had already kaput-ed. So guess who had to stay up at 12:44 in the morning to sit with the child who had to finish her homework so that she could eat ice-cream? Moi!
At 2 something a.m., Inez ate ice-cream because a promise is a promise and she had finished her work. I dunno what time she slept but I knew she brushed her teeth first coz she woke me up to tell me. "Good girl," I said, "now go to sleep." And then by 6:00 a.m. the next morning it was time to wake up and face a new day.
Sigh! I am so sleep deprived. :) My classes are at 8 a.m. which means I have to get up by 6 and leave the house my 7 a.m. Usually the kids would be up by 6 and be ready by the time we are ready.
Last night, she only had Maths homework which she finished in record time and was rewarded with her Mat Kool rainbow coloured ice-cream. Mika helped her colour some of the objects. At least today Inez can go to school happy.
Cookies for my friend
Some time last week, Inez came home and said, "Can we make cookies tonight? Inez got a friend. Inez told her Inez will bring cookies for her tomorrow."
"You got a friend? What's her name?"
"Inez don't remember."
"Okay, we can make cookies but Mommy only has ingredients for cornflake cookies (the recipe is from the back of the Nestle cornflake box). Remember you have to finish your homework first."
For the first time, I didn't have to sit with her while she did her homework. While I cooked dinner, she came into the kitchen occassionally to ask me what needed to be done. By the time I was having dinner, she was done. I told her while waiting, she could clean up the house of her toys, which she proceeded to do dutifully.
By the time I was nearly done, she came to me and said, "Mommy, Inez already remember that Inez's friend's name is."
Me: What is it?
Inez: Her name is Cikgujahan.
I nearly choked on my food. Did I hear right?
Me: Did you say 'Cikgu', Inez? Is your new friend the teacher?
Inez: Ah...
Me: What's her name again?
Inez: Cikgujahan
Me: How tall exactly is your friend?
Inez: Um...
Imagine, I was sitting down at the dining table and Inez was on tiptoes to show how tall her friend was. It's confirmed, Inez has made friends with her teacher. It was so funny.
Me: Inez, you don't have to lie to Mommy if you wanted Mommy to make cookies for you. So you have a new friend or not?
Inez: Sorry, Mommy. Inez was just tricking you. Inez just wanted to make cookies together.
And so we made cookies together but Inez didn't like the cookies because of the raisins and the next day, Inez took some cookies to school and reported that her friend didn't like raisins either.
It's been a crazy 2 weeks. Busy at work and busy at home. Please note that stories are not in chronological order, but in the order I remember them.
The sleep deprived mom and the homework trauma
That's what I am for the past week since Inez started school. In order for her to finish her work, we have to sit with her. Last Friday and Saturday, I had to work (yes, even on Ma'al Hijrah), so I totally forgot abt her h/w. Only on Sunday night, she conveniently remembered that she had h/w and her books were at my Mom's. Luckily for her, my hubby was going there for some reason I forget now, he brought home her books for her.
Needless to say, she fell asleep halfway through her work but woke up at 5:30 on Monday morning to do her homework! I applaud her for her sense of responsibility but guess who got to be awake to accompany her to do her work? Cest moi! And how much can moi accomplish if moi too got to get ready for work? Not much laa!
It takes her forever especially when it comes to writing Mandarin characters. So you can imagine how much progress she had from 5:30 to 7:30. I prepared her for school so that she could continue doing her work at her Nana's before going for her Fardhu Ain classes and her daddy sent the kids to my Mom's. I told him to help his daughter pack her bag but poor guy got his own things to put in the car besides his kids and so, Inez only took with her the book she was working on and the other 101 homework was on the carpet. When she arrived at my Mom's she was crying that she didn't have all her books! I was in the midst of getting ready for work, already later than I wanted to be, had to make a detour to my Mom's. All's well ends well? Hah!
I received a call from my Mom telling me Inez hadn't finished her homework and had been crying inconsolably until my mom promised her that she'd personally explain to the teacher. Suddenly, that promise sort of freed her from the pressure of doing her homework coz suddenly she stopped. Such a sneaky child, that one.
Mika on the other hand went into hiding when it was time to go to school, and only decided to go to school when my dad threatened to lock him in the toilet. When it's time to leave school, it wasn't easy either to get him to leave coz he had friends to play with. According to Mom, when she sent them to school, Jungle Boy rushed out from the inside to greet Mika. Isn't that nice? :)
Anyway, when Inez came back from school that day, of course she had new homework on top of the ones she didn't finish. The reward for finishing all her homework would be a cup of ice-cream. Understandably, being tired, she was sleeping halfway through doing her homework again. Poor child, by 9:30, she was out like a light.
As I was getting ready for sleep, Inez woke up, she wanted ice-cream. I checked the clock, it was 12:44 in the morning. Crazy girl wanted to eat ice-cream at 12:44 in the morning! I said, "NO!" because she had to do her homework first. My hubby had already kaput-ed. So guess who had to stay up at 12:44 in the morning to sit with the child who had to finish her homework so that she could eat ice-cream? Moi!
At 2 something a.m., Inez ate ice-cream because a promise is a promise and she had finished her work. I dunno what time she slept but I knew she brushed her teeth first coz she woke me up to tell me. "Good girl," I said, "now go to sleep." And then by 6:00 a.m. the next morning it was time to wake up and face a new day.
Sigh! I am so sleep deprived. :) My classes are at 8 a.m. which means I have to get up by 6 and leave the house my 7 a.m. Usually the kids would be up by 6 and be ready by the time we are ready.
Last night, she only had Maths homework which she finished in record time and was rewarded with her Mat Kool rainbow coloured ice-cream. Mika helped her colour some of the objects. At least today Inez can go to school happy.
Cookies for my friend
Some time last week, Inez came home and said, "Can we make cookies tonight? Inez got a friend. Inez told her Inez will bring cookies for her tomorrow."
"You got a friend? What's her name?"
"Inez don't remember."
"Okay, we can make cookies but Mommy only has ingredients for cornflake cookies (the recipe is from the back of the Nestle cornflake box). Remember you have to finish your homework first."
For the first time, I didn't have to sit with her while she did her homework. While I cooked dinner, she came into the kitchen occassionally to ask me what needed to be done. By the time I was having dinner, she was done. I told her while waiting, she could clean up the house of her toys, which she proceeded to do dutifully.
By the time I was nearly done, she came to me and said, "Mommy, Inez already remember that Inez's friend's name is."
Me: What is it?
Inez: Her name is Cikgujahan.
I nearly choked on my food. Did I hear right?
Me: Did you say 'Cikgu', Inez? Is your new friend the teacher?
Inez: Ah...
Me: What's her name again?
Inez: Cikgujahan
Me: How tall exactly is your friend?
Inez: Um...
Imagine, I was sitting down at the dining table and Inez was on tiptoes to show how tall her friend was. It's confirmed, Inez has made friends with her teacher. It was so funny.
Me: Inez, you don't have to lie to Mommy if you wanted Mommy to make cookies for you. So you have a new friend or not?
Inez: Sorry, Mommy. Inez was just tricking you. Inez just wanted to make cookies together.
And so we made cookies together but Inez didn't like the cookies because of the raisins and the next day, Inez took some cookies to school and reported that her friend didn't like raisins either.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
My New Year's Resolution
I actually don't believe in making new year's resolution because if you want to make a change, you don't really have to wait for the new year to make a resolution. But this is the time of year when you get assessed at work and you need to fill up piles of paperwork on what you've done and how you've contributed. Oooh, I hate filling forms! Especially when you are disorganised as I am who don't keep an up to date record, filling such forms can be traumatic. LOL
So since it is the beginning of the year, it is only appropriate to start recording now and to start being more organised now and learn from last year's blunders. Then again, this resolution is not new. Every beginning of the year, I will vow to jot down stuff and every year, it stops mid way. By June onwards, my diary or organiser would be clean. Just don't have the patience and willpower to be organised. My hubby on the other hand is my direct opposite. The man has a file for everything! This year, hopefully, my diary won't go clean till September or after. But wait, I gotta go get a diary first.
So since it is the beginning of the year, it is only appropriate to start recording now and to start being more organised now and learn from last year's blunders. Then again, this resolution is not new. Every beginning of the year, I will vow to jot down stuff and every year, it stops mid way. By June onwards, my diary or organiser would be clean. Just don't have the patience and willpower to be organised. My hubby on the other hand is my direct opposite. The man has a file for everything! This year, hopefully, my diary won't go clean till September or after. But wait, I gotta go get a diary first.
Lost Nokia: Beware the pickpocket!
On Monday evening, my mom lost her phone. It was a Nokia (dun remember what model but it had camera and colur screen and stuff and barely a year old). Partly to be blamed are my kids, especially Mika who lately has the tendency to go bonkers in supermarkets and malls. He will run around as if he owns the shop and making this tendency worse is Inez who thinks it is her fillial duty to go catch him on our behalf. Mika on the other hand thinks that Inez is playing catch with him, and suddenly, the mall is their playground. It's every parent's nightmare to have children like mine.
Then there are opportunists who seize the moment and take advantage of your being distracted while shopping, and brush near you to pick your pockets or in my mom's case, her handbag. Luckily for her, he only managed to get away with her mobile phone. She didn't see herself lucky though and would rather he steal her near empty wallet than her phone! Oh poor mom, she was so depressed and still half hopeful that she'd left her phone at home. As the fates would have it, the phone is gone forever!
So the next day, Mom gave a long lecture to my kids and Inez apologized profusedly and promised to behave herself in future. Mika said nothing until the lecture ended, went to my mom, hugged her and said only 4 little words, "I love you Nana."
I tell you, my son is very good at playing his nana. My mom went all soft but continued to tell them the importance of staying near the adults when shopping.
Then there are opportunists who seize the moment and take advantage of your being distracted while shopping, and brush near you to pick your pockets or in my mom's case, her handbag. Luckily for her, he only managed to get away with her mobile phone. She didn't see herself lucky though and would rather he steal her near empty wallet than her phone! Oh poor mom, she was so depressed and still half hopeful that she'd left her phone at home. As the fates would have it, the phone is gone forever!
So the next day, Mom gave a long lecture to my kids and Inez apologized profusedly and promised to behave herself in future. Mika said nothing until the lecture ended, went to my mom, hugged her and said only 4 little words, "I love you Nana."
I tell you, my son is very good at playing his nana. My mom went all soft but continued to tell them the importance of staying near the adults when shopping.
Homework! Homework! Homework!
I am amazed how much homework kindy goers have: Maths, Writing, Mandarin and so on.
The first homework Inez did was for her Fardhu Ain classes. She opened her book and announced that we must read the 'Before We Sleep Doa' before we go to bed, and then proceeded to colour some pictures applicable to that doa.
Then while I was cooking dinner, she brought in her writing book, did a few Os and announced that she was tired and that she didn't feel like doing it anymore. So I said, "Okay, why don't you rest first and then get back to your homework a little bit later?"
"Okay," came the prompt answer.
A little bit later, Inez said, "Inez is still tired, Mommy." So I let her rest some more. I said she should do her homework after dinner. She did her homework during dinner. How convenient. She didn't want to eat. I told her since she was so diligently doing her homework, I would feed her while she did her work. She opened her mouth reluctantly for the rice and omelette dinner I prepared. I sneaked in some chicken once in a while.
But Omigod! So slow! So, after dinner, I caught sight of some Kuaci or sunflower seeds and had a lightbulb moment. I told her that I'd give her a kuaci for every O she wrote. Little did I know then that it was going to be a decision I would regret almost instantly. She writes her Os so closely to each other. So I revised my decision and told her that I'd give her 3 kuaci for every line she completed. I had to keep up with her. Every 2 minutes, she'd shout, "Finish!" and I wasn't even done opening the seeds. To keep her going, I told her that for each line of the next page, she'd get 5 kuaci seeds. Imagine how many kuacis I had to open for FOUR pages of homework! But at least she finished her Writing homework. I am a happy mommy. Then, she took out her Maths homework. She had to colour the right number of items based on the number given. Thank God I didn't have to bribe her with kuaci seeds anymore! Thank God she loves to colour! By the time she finished it was about half past ten. Then we turned on the TV only to discover that it was broken! Aaaaaaaarrrrggghhh! How am I going to live without my TV?! My hubby was on the way to my mom's, so I got him to borrow a set from my folks. Problem solved for the time being.
This morning, I found out that she hasn't done her Mandarin writing homework. So I told her to do it after her F.Ain class.
In the meantime, Mika played with his wooden truck. When asked to tidy it up, he was more interested in playing Pinball on the computer. I warned him that if I cleaned up after him, he wouldn't see or play with his toy for a week. Do you what he said, "It's okay. Mika doesn't want to play with that toy anymore." Wah wah waaaaahh! So I went on to keep it on a very high up shelf which he wouldn't be able to reach.
The first homework Inez did was for her Fardhu Ain classes. She opened her book and announced that we must read the 'Before We Sleep Doa' before we go to bed, and then proceeded to colour some pictures applicable to that doa.
Then while I was cooking dinner, she brought in her writing book, did a few Os and announced that she was tired and that she didn't feel like doing it anymore. So I said, "Okay, why don't you rest first and then get back to your homework a little bit later?"
"Okay," came the prompt answer.
A little bit later, Inez said, "Inez is still tired, Mommy." So I let her rest some more. I said she should do her homework after dinner. She did her homework during dinner. How convenient. She didn't want to eat. I told her since she was so diligently doing her homework, I would feed her while she did her work. She opened her mouth reluctantly for the rice and omelette dinner I prepared. I sneaked in some chicken once in a while.
But Omigod! So slow! So, after dinner, I caught sight of some Kuaci or sunflower seeds and had a lightbulb moment. I told her that I'd give her a kuaci for every O she wrote. Little did I know then that it was going to be a decision I would regret almost instantly. She writes her Os so closely to each other. So I revised my decision and told her that I'd give her 3 kuaci for every line she completed. I had to keep up with her. Every 2 minutes, she'd shout, "Finish!" and I wasn't even done opening the seeds. To keep her going, I told her that for each line of the next page, she'd get 5 kuaci seeds. Imagine how many kuacis I had to open for FOUR pages of homework! But at least she finished her Writing homework. I am a happy mommy. Then, she took out her Maths homework. She had to colour the right number of items based on the number given. Thank God I didn't have to bribe her with kuaci seeds anymore! Thank God she loves to colour! By the time she finished it was about half past ten. Then we turned on the TV only to discover that it was broken! Aaaaaaaarrrrggghhh! How am I going to live without my TV?! My hubby was on the way to my mom's, so I got him to borrow a set from my folks. Problem solved for the time being.
This morning, I found out that she hasn't done her Mandarin writing homework. So I told her to do it after her F.Ain class.
In the meantime, Mika played with his wooden truck. When asked to tidy it up, he was more interested in playing Pinball on the computer. I warned him that if I cleaned up after him, he wouldn't see or play with his toy for a week. Do you what he said, "It's okay. Mika doesn't want to play with that toy anymore." Wah wah waaaaahh! So I went on to keep it on a very high up shelf which he wouldn't be able to reach.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
School Stories
Sleeping in Class
When my mom went to pick the kids up on the second day of school, she was greeted by the teacher who laughingly informed her that Mika fell asleep in school. He was the only one who went to sleep!
"What time did he sleep?" my mom asked.
"Around 3 p.m.," the teacher replied.
"What time did he wake up?" my mom asked this time.
"Around 3:35."
My mom figured that somebody must have woken him up. No way Mika would sleep for a little after half an hour. Normally, he'd sleep for at least an hour or two. Since school ended at 3:45p.m., they must have woken him up to go home. Hahaha now that's funny.
It wasn't surprising at all knowing that he was the last to sleep the night before. He had taken an evening nap and so, couldn't sleep at his normal time at 9 or 10 p.m. But the next day, his sleeping pattern went back to normal. Thank God!
Jungle Boy
Yesterday I collected the kids from school. I was early but Mika was already out. Inez was still in Mandarin class. She was due out in another 5 minutes.
"Mommy!" Mika called as he ran towards me and started tugging at me to bring him to the car across the road. I told him we had to wait for Inez.
In the meantime, I asked his teacher how he was in class. She wasn't exactly informative. Just said that he was okay, he did colouring and was able to follow when she taught the class Mandarin. I was carrying Mika at that time, so I asked him, "Did you do colouring, Mika?"
"Yes," he said, nodding at the same time.
"Is this your teacher?"
Again his answer was, "Yes."
"What do you call your teacher?" I asked.
Mika shrugged and said, "I dunno."
The teacher said her name was Miss Tan.
"Did he made any friends?" I asked his teacher.
"Yes, there are only 5 of them," she answered.
"Is that your friend?" I indicated at a tall Chinese boy standing at the gate.
"Yeah, that's Jungle Boy."
"You call him Jungle Boy?"
"Yea."
The boy was appropriately dressed in camouflage designed T-shirt and pants.
In my mind, I was relieved that Jungle Boy was a real person.
Inez's Fardhu Ain classes.
Inez's Fardhu Ain's classes actually started this week and not last week. Poor parents of mine took Inez for the F.Ain class and were confused when the school asked for more money. They thought that Inez was attending pre-school there. They didn't have Mandarin; that's why I only enrolled her for F.Ain there. Her existing kindy has F.Ain classes but they coincide with Mandarin. That's why Inez has to go to 2 schools in a day.
On the first day, we were early and Inez was in time to see a teacher and her students singing some children's songs in Malay that even I do not know existed: lagu gajah la (i.e., Elephant song), kambing la (goat song), macam-macam (etc) and mostly about animals. Poor Inez didn't really understand but it seemed fun.
After class, when my dad asked her what she had learned, she said she couldn't remember and that she played with toys. I guess that's the highlight of her morning. Anyway, Inez seems to have made 2 friends in her F.Ain classes but not in school. Isn't that strange?
When my mom went to pick the kids up on the second day of school, she was greeted by the teacher who laughingly informed her that Mika fell asleep in school. He was the only one who went to sleep!
"What time did he sleep?" my mom asked.
"Around 3 p.m.," the teacher replied.
"What time did he wake up?" my mom asked this time.
"Around 3:35."
My mom figured that somebody must have woken him up. No way Mika would sleep for a little after half an hour. Normally, he'd sleep for at least an hour or two. Since school ended at 3:45p.m., they must have woken him up to go home. Hahaha now that's funny.
It wasn't surprising at all knowing that he was the last to sleep the night before. He had taken an evening nap and so, couldn't sleep at his normal time at 9 or 10 p.m. But the next day, his sleeping pattern went back to normal. Thank God!
Jungle Boy
Yesterday I collected the kids from school. I was early but Mika was already out. Inez was still in Mandarin class. She was due out in another 5 minutes.
"Mommy!" Mika called as he ran towards me and started tugging at me to bring him to the car across the road. I told him we had to wait for Inez.
In the meantime, I asked his teacher how he was in class. She wasn't exactly informative. Just said that he was okay, he did colouring and was able to follow when she taught the class Mandarin. I was carrying Mika at that time, so I asked him, "Did you do colouring, Mika?"
"Yes," he said, nodding at the same time.
"Is this your teacher?"
Again his answer was, "Yes."
"What do you call your teacher?" I asked.
Mika shrugged and said, "I dunno."
The teacher said her name was Miss Tan.
"Did he made any friends?" I asked his teacher.
"Yes, there are only 5 of them," she answered.
"Is that your friend?" I indicated at a tall Chinese boy standing at the gate.
"Yeah, that's Jungle Boy."
"You call him Jungle Boy?"
"Yea."
The boy was appropriately dressed in camouflage designed T-shirt and pants.
In my mind, I was relieved that Jungle Boy was a real person.
Inez's Fardhu Ain classes.
Inez's Fardhu Ain's classes actually started this week and not last week. Poor parents of mine took Inez for the F.Ain class and were confused when the school asked for more money. They thought that Inez was attending pre-school there. They didn't have Mandarin; that's why I only enrolled her for F.Ain there. Her existing kindy has F.Ain classes but they coincide with Mandarin. That's why Inez has to go to 2 schools in a day.
On the first day, we were early and Inez was in time to see a teacher and her students singing some children's songs in Malay that even I do not know existed: lagu gajah la (i.e., Elephant song), kambing la (goat song), macam-macam (etc) and mostly about animals. Poor Inez didn't really understand but it seemed fun.
After class, when my dad asked her what she had learned, she said she couldn't remember and that she played with toys. I guess that's the highlight of her morning. Anyway, Inez seems to have made 2 friends in her F.Ain classes but not in school. Isn't that strange?
Thursday, January 04, 2007
First Day of School (Part 2)
When I came back from work all excited to find out how the first day of school went, I was surprised to come home to see both my kids were sleeping. Actually I shouldn't be surprised but amazingly, they slept throughout the evening until 6 a.m. the next morning. So no information except for what my mom got out of them before they kaput-ed. Apparently, Mika played toys for 5 minutes. Played at the slide for 5 minutes. I don't think he understands the concept of 5 minutes but if you ask him, everything is 5 minutes. Inez, according to my mom, did not talk to anyone. Not even Yan Yan, her only friend from last year.
I was afraid that they'd wake up after 3 hours of sleep and then stay up till 1 or something like that. Luckily, my worst fears did not materialise and they continued sleeping till morning. Around 6 a.m., Inez woke up all cheery faced and announced that she did colouring at school.
"What did you colour?" I asked.
"A dinosaur! With polka dots!" she replied.
"And Mika?"
"Mika played with toys," she answered, confirming what my mom had said.
Basically, the first day was uneventful. The next day was also more or less the same except that this time Mika did colouring and I have no idea what Inez did. She is more interested in talking about Mika than she is about herself. Apparently, Mika has got a new friend called Jungle Boy. "What do you call him?" I asked.
"Jungle Boy," said Mika.
"Does he live in the jungle?"
"No," Inez answered on Mika's behalf.
Puzzled, I asked, "Then why do you call him Jungle Boy?"
"Because...[something something]," I couldn't quite catch his answer.
"Is this a made-up friend like Cilia (i.e., Inez's made up friend from last year, who is supposedly from Mexico but speaks Chinese and likes Mexican buns. It turns out Inez was only tricking us.)?"
Mika said no. I will just wait and see if I can get more information from him today.
Inez on the other hand is still not talking to anyone in school and she finished a whole bottle of water, which would be a feat at home. My mom says she must be shy and so she covers that up by drinking.
I was afraid that they'd wake up after 3 hours of sleep and then stay up till 1 or something like that. Luckily, my worst fears did not materialise and they continued sleeping till morning. Around 6 a.m., Inez woke up all cheery faced and announced that she did colouring at school.
"What did you colour?" I asked.
"A dinosaur! With polka dots!" she replied.
"And Mika?"
"Mika played with toys," she answered, confirming what my mom had said.
Basically, the first day was uneventful. The next day was also more or less the same except that this time Mika did colouring and I have no idea what Inez did. She is more interested in talking about Mika than she is about herself. Apparently, Mika has got a new friend called Jungle Boy. "What do you call him?" I asked.
"Jungle Boy," said Mika.
"Does he live in the jungle?"
"No," Inez answered on Mika's behalf.
Puzzled, I asked, "Then why do you call him Jungle Boy?"
"Because...[something something]," I couldn't quite catch his answer.
"Is this a made-up friend like Cilia (i.e., Inez's made up friend from last year, who is supposedly from Mexico but speaks Chinese and likes Mexican buns. It turns out Inez was only tricking us.)?"
Mika said no. I will just wait and see if I can get more information from him today.
Inez on the other hand is still not talking to anyone in school and she finished a whole bottle of water, which would be a feat at home. My mom says she must be shy and so she covers that up by drinking.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
First day of school (Part 1)
It's the dreaded day for my Inez. Mika isn't too happy about it either. This morning, she was all geared up in her baju kurung and a kerchief on her head, all ready for Iqra' only to be told that classes commence next week. I can just imagine my girl heaving hugh sighs of relief.
Then, at 1 something, both she and her brother have to get ready for kindergarten. I received a call from my Mom at 2p.m. Apparently both my kids had clung on to her like their lives depended on it. Then she saw a table full of toys and directed Mika there and deposited him in an empty seat. Mika was distracted by the toys. Inez on the other hand had to be taken to her classroom upstairs by one of the teachers there.
A full report soon. To be continued....
Then, at 1 something, both she and her brother have to get ready for kindergarten. I received a call from my Mom at 2p.m. Apparently both my kids had clung on to her like their lives depended on it. Then she saw a table full of toys and directed Mika there and deposited him in an empty seat. Mika was distracted by the toys. Inez on the other hand had to be taken to her classroom upstairs by one of the teachers there.
A full report soon. To be continued....
Mika, the smooth talker
Yesterday, we went to my mom's rather late in the evening. Mom opened the door and got a hug from Inez who then proceeded to deal with her Astro. Mika gave my mom a big and affectionate hug.
Mom: Why, Mika, are you soo loving today?
Mika: Because...you make me sooo happy.
Who wouldn't be happy to hear that?
Mom: Why, Mika, are you soo loving today?
Mika: Because...you make me sooo happy.
Who wouldn't be happy to hear that?
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