Here's to everyone!

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Revised & extended stories by Aidan Teh

Last night, Aidan was having dinner and singing songs about fat sausages (go figure!) when he suddenly said, "Mummy! I have a story to tell you!" And so it began. Two super edited and extended versions of stories we know. No one can say the kid has no imagination! (Excuse the grammar though. The little tyke is only 4).

Baby Jesus (Version 2009. TOTALLY revised and err...upgraded)

"This is baby Jesus (draws in the air with his finger). And this - draws a square shape - is the hotel. One of the bad men came to find him but when he arrived, baby Jesus grow up already. And then He fight with the bad man until, until - pauses and dramatically does vertical shaking motions with his hands - until the temple came crashing down!"

Oh wow! Such talent! The ability to mesh Bible stories into one explosive, action packed masterpiece! Yes, we are in awe! LOL! On to the other story....


The Ant and the Bird (the super extended version. The version you know had the best bits snipped.)

"An ant was in the river. Drowning. A bird plucked a leaf and threw it on the ant! The ant climbed on the leaf and was saved. A man with a gun was going to shoot the bird but the ant bite him and the bird was saved!"

"What does this story teach you?" I asked.

"All about ants!" was his quick, confident reply. It was hard to choose between rolling my eyes and laughing out loud. Might burst a blood vessel if I tried both simultaneously, so I kept a composed smile on my face.

"And then! A dinosaur, a T-Rex came and grabbed the bird! The ant quickly bite the T-Rex until die!"

Before I could wrap my brain around the unexpected appearance of the dino,...

"An eagle came! The ant called the man to shoot the eagle! And then, and then - he got really excited, I can sense another brilliant cameo coming - a robot appeared! The ant and the man fight with the robot until it's destroyed!"

Aidan smiled with satisfaction. He's told awesome stories and he knows it. I was left gaping at the sheer genius (and audacity!) of the stories and I grabbed pen and paper and jot it down before my too-stunned-brain left out important details.

Don't you just wanna squish him in a geram-hug? And then worry how to disentangle the Bible stories back to its original, correct, albeit less action-packed version? No worries about the ant and the bird (some ant, huh?) though. It's time fables get a facelift.



The author-editor extraordinaire.

When I grow up, I wanna be...

Most of us remember our childhood dreams. What we wanna be when we grow up. More often than not, those dreams change as we age and acquire new interests or new insights on life. I can't remember my childhood dreams. I put it down to sleep deprivation!

Anyway, the other day, Sean asked me (with a very serious expression), "Mummy what do u think I can be when i grow up?" "Anything you want, as long as you work at it," I replied. "3 of my friends in class wanna be policemen when they grow up." "What about you?" I asked. "Me? I wanna be...."

He paused and thought and I waited with bated breath. This is the first "I wanna be" conversation with my firstborn and it's so meaningful!

"I wanna be....Optimus Prime!" he said and burst into cheeky laughter.

*sigh* *Rips the page off the invisible book of nostalgia, crumples it and throws it away*


"This is my Autobot face."

Literally

Children are so literal. Case in point: Sean asked his daddy one day, "If i drink a lot of water, will it wash Jesus out of my body?" Huh?! He is struggling with the idea that Jesus lives in his heart. So we get these kinda questions once in a while. Sure keeps us on our toes! :)
"I ask interesting questions don't I?"

Vote for Our Band Name

We're finally getting a name for the band. But we need your help to decide which one. We've narrowed down to 2 names and here's your chance to be a part of the selection. Get to the vote site and make your selection. We're very excited to see the outcome.

Vote now - http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/453610

God bless!

Yummy cuppies!

Do these look too good to eat? Yeah.
Do they taste as good as they look? You betcha!

My very dear friend gave me this box of cupcakes two days before Merdeka. Well, not to celebrate independence day but because she has a heart of gold and must always bring something when she visits.

Needless to say, the kids were really delighted with these lovely confections and could not wait to eat them! I, on the other hand, delayed eating them for as long as I could (which was not very long!) for they were so lovely!

Check out these other designs from the designer-baker-extraordinaire...








Aren't they just gorgeous? It's hard to believe they're cupcakes! Check out more amazing designs at http://www.whitedaisy.my

The Continuing Saga of Sean & Aidan - Bedtime Chat

The room was dark and I was waiting for them to fall asleep when Aidan's voice floated in the night...

Aidan: Kor Kor, did you know that Mickey is a Mouse?

Sean: Yes, I know.

Aidan: But I don't know what Minnie is.

Sean: Minnie is a Mouse also la. Daisy is a duck. Donald is a duck. But I don't know what Goofy is.

Aidan: Goofy is a fox!

Me: Goofy is a dog la! (Aidan argued with me for a while but finally agreed).


"Who's been giggling? Not us, mummy! We've been trying to sleep!"

Aidan's take on Wonderpets

Mummy, I know why they call the show the Wonderpets! Because, they're wondering if they'll get the pets!

- LOL -

Bahasa Malaysia

Sean & Aidan watched cartoons dubbed in BM for the first time today. Wonderpets and Go, Diego, Go! They enjoyed the cartoons and didn't mind the language "barrier". They understand some BM but not enough to fully understand the cartoons. So I translated key words.

At one point in Go, Diego, Go!, Diego was running from a swarm of bees and said, "Sudah...." something or other - I can't remember. There were a few "sudahs" in the next few sentences. Apparently, Sean understood but decided to be cheeky. He announced, "Sudah kentot!"

So...MALE of him. Already embarking on toilet humour. *sigh*

When it rains, it pours

So it rained yesterday. Actually, it POURED. For about 4 hours or more. I was gonna pick up the kids from kindy when it started. Got them in the car dry and buckled up in their car seats. Drove carefully cos of the rain. Visibility was poor. Everything was ok till about 3km from the kindy. I stopped at a traffic light and the cars in front of me started reversing and making u-turns. One of them almost hit me while reversing. I looked down the road - the rain had caused a flood of sorts - the road was almost submerged in water and one or two cars were stalled. I reversed and u-turned too and had to think of another route home fast.

It was harrowing because almost every stretch of road had huge catchments of water (Melaka boleh! Sorry, I just have to be cynical here) and I had to slow down and prayed that the car wouldn't stall and that no one would hit me from behind. The kids however were having a blast. Aidan would shriek, "Flood! Flood!" every time we went through the water and it parted in rather high "waves" on either side of the car. At one particularly bad patch, there was a thunk when the car hit the water and Sean screamed, "the wheel came off!" All these was not helping my frayed nerves one bit, thank you very much.

At one point we were coming down a slope towards a traffic light and I braked and....the brakes didn't work! My heart was in my mouth as I "buang gear" and tried to brake again. Thankfully, I didn't hit the car in front. I was near panic; what with trying to keep the car from stalling, trying to see through the heavy rain and concentrate through the excited squeals of the kids, now the brakes don't work?!

At the next traffic light, I remembered what my hubby told me once in another heavy downpour. "The force be with you!" Oh. Errr...that's not it. (I feel tense just blogging this so a bit of humour's good, eh?) He told me to pump the brakes to get it working again. And to rev the engine a bit to keep it from stalling. So I did and, wahla, the brakes worked. Phew! Praise God!

We made it home safe and sound with my legs a bit stiff from handling a manual car in such conditions and my arms stiff from gripping the steering wheel. Hooboy! Was I tense! I wish I was driving a 4WD instead of a compact car!

On a brighter note, the rain washed away the haze and it was wonderfully cool the whole day.


It sure ain't this boring in the car yesterday!

One flew over the cuckoo's nest

Several days ago, my dad was changing the batteries in his faithful old clock that sits up on the wall in the hall. He remarked to Sean, "Maybe I should get a cuckoo clock, eh?"

And Sean said, "But what happens when the bird flies everywhere?!" LOL.

The Continuing Saga of Sean & Aidan - Bible stories

We had read several Bible stories to them at bedtime and I asked questions to gauge how much they understood. It went something like this...

Me: So, why did God send the flood? And why was Noah & his family the only ones saved?
Sean: Because Noah was good and the other people were bad. They were Decepticons!

(Oh blimey! He's got robots on his mind!)


Me: Why was Adam & Eve sent out of the garden of Eden?
Aidan: Mmmmm...because they ate the wrong plants!
He saw my expression and raised eyebrows...
Aidan: Ahhh....because they ate the trees in the fruits!
My eyebrows must've gone higher...
Aidan: Because they ate the fruits in the trees!
Finally...
Aidan: Because they didn't obey God, they ate the wrong fruit.


Yummy nan-nan before Bible-time.

A crime of passion

She first found evidence of the intruder a month ago. Then she saw the intruder a few times but it was brief, fleeting. It unnerved her that her private sanctum was violated.

It caught her by surprise; the rustling of fast feet, and then, there it was. Staring her in the face. She froze for a second. Then it was a race - she to grab a weapon, the intruder to safety.

The sound of the weapon being used and the smell of the poison added to the adrenaline rush of the chase. Finally, the intruder was cornered, disoriented by the poison. She looked at it and there was a brief moment of indecision. But she felt the outrage rising. How dare they enter and defile her home?

And so the intruder's life was ended with a few strong blows. As it lay wriggling, dying, she looked at it with disgust and swiftly disposed of the body. It was one woman against a bold, relentless intruder. It was a "crime" of passion.

The Continuing Saga of Sean & Aidan - Car Chatter

We were passing the airport which is undergoing extension works...
Sean: Look! Two giant diggers!
Aidan: That means they are two bludders! (brothers! The "r" isn't rolling on his tongue yet. haha..)

On the way home from kindy...
Aidan: I didn't see E-Zen in school today
Sean: I did! I saw him in the bathroom.
Aidan: But I didn't see him in class!
This went on back & forth for a bit and then...
Sean: Hmmm...maybe I didn't see E-Zen. Maybe it was someone else.
Aidan: It was ME-la!
Huh?!! haha...

On the way to town...
Daddy to me: Hmmm....maybe I should keep my hair long
Sean: Ahhh, then can go kill lions!
Well! Proof that at least some Bible stories are sticking. Yay!

Sean learns to joke

Sean is five years old and today i found out that he's learning to joke. We were driving home from kindy. Sean and Aidan were in their car seats in the backseat. Elyon Lee was riding shotgun. Aidan was calling, "Elilon! Elilon!" I tried to help Aidan pronounce it right. "Aidan, it's air-lee-yawn", I said. "It means he yawns a lot!" Sean teased. I didn't expect that but I told him not to make fun of people's names.

After we dropped Elyon off, Aidan suddenly said, "I have a new friend in class mummy!" He said it's a boy. I asked the boy's name. He wasn't sure but said, "I think it's Tee Shaw" (I'm guessing the spelling). "You mean the tricycle?" Sean quipped and laughed. I couldn't help a surprised chuckle. Of course he meant that Tee Shaw sounds like trishaw. Cheekiness!

Premonition?

It's happened one too many times. Honestly, I'm a bit freaked. This morning, I was driving and reached out to switch on the radio. As my fingers touched the nob, the song, "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus flashed in my head. I turned the nob and....The Climb was playing.

Last month, we were at Putra Hospital, bringing the kids to see a paediatrician. We were walking into the lobby and the thought popped into my head that I'd see an acquaintance upstairs. I didn't give it a second thought cos it's highly unlikely...I met the person the day before and she was in the pink of health. BUT....there she was in the clinic next to the paediatrician's! I was stumped (managed to wave at her).

Then there was the time I was having breakfast at a roti canai shop. This pakcik asked if he could sit at my table cos there was no place else. We got to talking. He told me he was doing maintenance contract work nearby. Weirdly, I just had a feeling that he would pay for my breakfast and he did! I mean...the guy's a complete stranger! Why would I even have such a thought?!

Sometimes I'd just know that someone's gonna call and sure enough, they'll call not long after. Sometimes I know what some people will say. There have been many other weird instances but I can't remember them.

The world may call this women's intuition, premonition, etc but as a Christian...frankly, I'm at a loss what to make of it. What do you think?

Kids & God

There we were, Sean, Aidan and I eating chicken rice for lunch. Out of nowhere Sean asked a question & it lead to very interesting comments. I'll try to re-cap it...

Sean: How did God get into my tummy?
Me: (huh?!)*Didn't say anything.Waited for him to explain that weird question*
Sean: God is here right? But we can't see His face.
Me: Yeah, He's always with us but we can't see Him.
Aidan: God is in my heart!
Sean: God is in heaven but here don't have heaven.
Aidan: God is in my heart!
Sean: How does God get in my tummy? So many things in my tummy already.

*I didn't answer Sean cos sometimes he just says things to be cheeky/funny. He knows we've never ever said anything about God being in his tummy!"

Aidan: God loves me you know! He loves me everyday! He wants us to be good. To eat vegetables, fruits, so that we can be strong!

*I smile & nod my head*

Macam Sharifah Aini?

About three weeks ago, I went to the Peringgit Community Clinic because I had been coughing for over a month and also my wrists were hurting to the point that I sometimes could not hold a mug properly.

After a very long wait at the registration counter and another not-too-long wait at the waiting area, my number was called. The doctor was a young Indian lady. She looked quite fierce. Told her about the cough and wrist pains. She immediately started filling out forms for two types of tests - Sputum (to determine why the prolonged cough) and a blood test to test for rheumatoid arthritis. Because I occasionally suffer some pain in my knees, and other joints she said it was best to test for rheumatoid arthritis.

Now, I know one might think...arthritis? Doesn't that occur in older folks? Well, onset of rheumatoid arthritis is usually 40's to 50's but no age is immune.

So I went to the laboratory and they gave me three round containers to err...spit into. Wow....have to produce so much phlegm. I barely managed. Then it was on to the blood test. I was never afraid of the needle as a child, in my teens and as an adult. But strangely, these past few years, I find myself dreading blood tests and steeling myself for it.

So, there I was, a bit nervous. The nurse who was to draw my blood (heh! so dramatic) was a motherly Malay lady. She smiled and was friendly. As she tightened the elastic band on my arm, she said, "banyak juga tahi lalat di tangan awak". I smiled at her and said, "muka saya lagi banyak." She took a good look and, "eh ya la! banyak nya! Macam Sharifah Aini!" *chuckles*

I have no idea why I've so many moles. Its multiplied over the years. There are more than 15 on my face and neck alone. A friend who's a photographer said that she'd have a hard time taking photos of me because have to work hard to "erase the dots" afterwards. Ha!

Anyways, the sputum test would take 2 weeks and the blood test, six weeks. I went to collect the results for the sputum test last Thursday. The doc (a different one) took one look at the results and said that the prolonged cough was because of some "kuman." I asked what "kuman?" She just said "batuk berkuman". Duh! She prescribed an antibiotic that needed two doctor's signatures or the pharmacist would not release it. I am much better now though I have not finished the course.

Three more weeks to the blood test results. Hope its NOT rheumatoid arthritis.

A Tale of Two Toothbrush Holders

So Sean and Aidan's happy & "comfy-cosy" in their own room. They still come to my bathroom to wash up because we haven't gotten them toothbrush holders for their attached bathroom. I had specific ones in mind. Last Sunday, we were in Jusco and I brought them to select their toothbrush holders. These were their choices. Can you guess which cute holder belongs to whom?


Well, Sean chose the blue rhino and Aidan, the cute Beagle. Needless to say, they were fascinated at the mechanisms of it. We taught them how to use it and they got the hang of it though Aidan hadn't perfected it.

One afternoon, they brought my mum to proudly show her their toothbrush holders. Suddenly Sean came running down with something in his hands. It was the Beagle...headless. He said Aidan got too rough trying to demo the use of the holder to my mum and it popped right off. Apparently, he opened and closed it again and again incorrectly and in a rough manner. I went to take a look and this was what I saw.


*Sigh* I felt sad. The poor Beagle. Just four days on the bathroom wall and already damaged. Luckily, it could be fixed and its now functioning well next to its rhino friend.

And that concludes the Tale of the Two Toothbrush Holders.

A room of their own

Thursday, 29 March 2009 was a very special day. It was the day that Sean and Aidan finally moved into their own room. They've always slept in our room (on their own beds). We want them to move into their own room but didn't want to force them. Broached the idea with them a few times since last year but they were adamant - "We wanna sleep with mummy & daddy."

Thursday, 29 March 2009 something snapped, or rather I snapped because of somethings the boys did and I thought, "Ok, it's time they move into their own room so that I have some space." I admit, it was a lousy way to make a decision; when I'm mad but at that time I thought it was best for the sake of peace in the house. And so I huffed and puffed and moved the spare queen sized and single mattresses out of their allocated-but-turned-into-a-guest-room into my room and their mattresses into that room. All the while they were playing downstairs, blissfully unaware of what was going on.

Just as I was almost done, they came up and saw the changes. Sean quietly said, "Mummy, I don't want to sleep alone in that room." Aidan of course said the same. I quietly answered that I will discuss it with daddy after dinner and let them know how it'll work out.

Well, after dinner, we brought them to their room. They were apprehensive but curious. We explained that we'd always wanted to give them their own room and that we'd paint it soon - a fun color they'd like - we can decorate it with their artwork, move their books in, put in a new wardrobe soon, etc. They got excited and were soon running to and fro my room to theirs getting ready for bed, chatting and laughing.

As they were settling down to sleep, Aidan pronounced the room "comfy-cosy". And Sean agreed.

We sat with them till they slept and were expecting them to keep coming to us that night but Sean slept through the night and Aidan only came to find me at 5.30am. Brought him back to his bed and he went back to sleep. It's been that way ever since, Sean sleeps through and Aidan will look for me in the wee hours of morn. It was better than we'd expected.

The next day, another surprise - they didn't want me there for their afternoon nap. They said they could sleep on their own at daytime. Wah! So I left. After a while, I heard lots of giggles and sounds of them playing and they didn't sleep. But it was ok, I was just so happy at these unexpected steps of independence.

Now, our room seem empty without them. I miss them and Jason admitted he misses them too. Somehow the room isn't "comfy-cosy" without them. Haha! That's parenthood I think - bittersweet.

Unequipped for the job

First of all, realize that children are naturally noisy.
Second, doing what comes naturally isn't "naughty" to a child.
Third, we ask too much of children, depending on their age, when we make them sit for long periods in chairs or high chairs.

The above excerpt is from the book "Have a New Child by Friday" by renowned Christian psychologist Dr. Kevin Leman. I agree with him and wish more adults are aware of the above facts.

Case in point: I was at a meeting in a church not too long ago. The children were given wee chairs right in the front row at the extreme right of the meeting hall. There were about 7 kids aged 3+ to 8 including my kids. There was a lady sitting there with them to "look after" them. She's one of the Sunday school teachers. I was seated a couple of rows behind them. The meeting lasted about 2 hours and I think that the kids behaved very well. They spoke to each other, moved in their chairs, read books, drew, played with small toys but one couldn't hear them and they were not distracting.

Apparently, the lady looking after them didn't think so. She kept hushing them and getting to them every time they moved or did something. I was really annoyed. I mean, does she expect them to be still as statues? They can't understand what the preacher was saying and I think that indulging in a bit of drawing, playing with toys and chatting is alright as they were doing it with minimum noise and movement.

At one point, she grabbed the pencil from a boy and told him to stop it just because he was showing his drawing to another boy and they were both drawing and chatting. I really saw red then but kept my peace. In the end, I think she was the one being distracting - moving always to hush and what not. The poor kids.

While I appreciate the fact that this lady and many like her sacrifice time and effort to volunteer in Sunday school, I wonder why can't they be trained/equipped for the job? They should understand kids and if not, at least be taught what to expect and not to expect from kids and how to handle them.

Tunggang terbalik

Last week, Sean was pretty excited about The Donkey - an art & craft thingy he made at Sunday school. That night, Jason asked him to write his name on that paper. And he did - in an almost complete mirror-image! Only the last letter, "N" is not a mirror image.

We were surprised. We took a good look at him and he looked flat out tired. We realized that he didn't do it on purpose and it wasn't because he forgot how to write his name. He must've been so tired, his brain somehow just went a little hay-wire.

Sometimes he writes numbers and alphabets backwards when he does his homework. He'll look at the sample but still write it backwards. Eye-brain-hand processing/coordination gone hay-wire?

I recall that he sometimes draws trucks "backwards" too - with the back part of the truck first and the way he draws that rectangle part of the truck is from bottom right to left and up. Unlike the way a right hander would draw it and he's a right hander.

I find it all a bit perplexing but maybe it's like that with some kids at this age. Hopefully, he'll grow out of it.

My Valentine

Yesterday was Valentine's day and it was just another day for us. No gifts, no date night (my hubby has been ill for 6 days) but that didn't bother me. However, sometime in the evening, I caught a look at myself in the full length mirror and I was really bothered.

You've heard or read it before, I'm sure - the term "letting herself go." It means women who've stopped taking care of their appearance after having kids or for whatever reason. Weight gain, unflattering hair, frumpy clothes, terrible complexion, etc. Well, that look in the mirror told me just that - I've let myself go. There are spare tyres aplenty, flabby arms, hard-to-groom hair, round face with desperately-need-a-facial complexion. *sigh*

I started grumbling that I look so aunty/ah mah. I've seen so many hot mums and I dunno how they do it (with lotsa help from the mighty moolah I suppose). I need a makeover - a new hairdo, facials, etc but it's all so expensive, *grumble* grumble* grumble*

My dear hubby assured me he loves me the way I am (I gave him the evil eye) and that he'd try his best to provide for a makeover of sorts. I said, I understand our finances and don't ask for much. And he said......"You don't ask for much but I want to give you much."

And there it was. The most romantic thing he's said in a while. It was Valentine's day yesterday. :)



Addendum : Some couples start looking like each other after years of marriage. Jason & I don't look alike (haha!) but often we dress in the same colors. Unplanned. Happened again today. Both of us ended up with brown tops for church. I guess the t-shirt he was wearing says it well : Same Same (front of tee) But different (back of tee). :)

Who am I?

I've always envied people who are confident, different, sure of what they're to do here on earth and already happily at it, unafraid to stand out in a crowd...just comfortable in their own skin.

I on the other hand have always been uncomfortable in my own skin. Not a confident person, just another face in the crowd.

And lately, I've been even more unsure of myself. Somethings that were once a "sure thing" and a dream for me is now in tatters. The more I look at myself, the more I seem to fall short of who I really want to be.

I guess that's why it's so great that Jesus is my Saviour. But I'm still trying to connect the dots and emerge from my cocoon a proud butterfly, sure of what my Saviour wants me to do and fully able to do it for His glory.

Quite literally

Children are so literal! Case in point...

My adorable Aidan has turned not so adorable since his third birthday last month. Like his brother, he's got the case of the Terrible 3's. Testing limits, defiance, etc. Especially when it's time to brush his teeth. Rule is we call once, they obey. Lately, been calling Aidan to come to the bathroom to brush his teeth but he's been disobeying.

Last night, he came when I called but with a slight grumpy look. I reminded him, " Must come when I call. What did Jesus say?"

Now, I was expecting "obey mummy & daddy" (from Ephesians 6) but Aidan said....

"Go brush teeth."

I had to control myself from laughing, put on a solemn face and told him, "Jesus said to obey your daddy & mummy."

So funny!

Majesty

MAJESTY

Rising, I feel my heart sing
His praises, our Lord and King
The wonder, the majesty
Welcome the King of Glory in

PRE-CHORUS
Every tribe and tongue
Every land will sing Your praise
To the end of time we sing
Majesty

CHORUS
All majesty to the God of creation
All majesty God of all generations
This anthem we sing
To the God of all nations
All majesty we sing

We sang this song in church this morning. The first song of the first service of the year. And it's so apt. What a way to start the year! All Majesty, King Jesus! All glory to Him! Amen!