Parenting: Thinking Out Loud Is Fun

Does your child have a favourite story?  A story book that you need to read every night?  And honestly you can memorise the whole story and was hoping your child won’t pick up that same story book again.

My son has lots of favourite stories and every night we sit at a cozy reading corner in his room, going through books.  I love that time with him, when he has me all to himself.  It’s a nice way to end the day with your child, reading a book, talking about the book, and have some cuddles before they start to squirm away from under your arms, ha!

Lately, at our story time, I decided to do something different.  JD loves drawing, painting, making things.  He is good with his hands and he has great imagination which usually translates into something quite remarkable.

So last week, we took out his scrap book, some marker pens and I got him to make up a story of his own.  He started by making up one sentence, then me adding another sentence, then him, then me again…

As he came up with his story, I also encouraged him to draw it out concurrently.  And that went on for a good 30 minutes. 

He started telling me a story about the His Rockets and The 3 Aliens.

I can’t remember the whole story, but it had something to do with his rocket flying into the space, landed on planet Mars, and he was drawing lots and lots of line to show me the “best” way to reach Mars.

Then there were some aliens that have long arms, long legs, sharp teeth…that came to look for the monsters.

Finally there was a big bang, and there were meteorites flying everywhere!

It was great fun.   My objective was to give him the opportunity to create a story of his own, illustrate, explain his thoughts, imaginations all by putting his pictures into words.

But it can also be an opportunity to broaden your child’s knowledge on topics of their interests, their volcabulary, explaining to them how the universe works by making it all exciting and most importantly in the way they can understand and comprehend.

It was spur of a moment thing, different, fun and it makes my child happy! 

My next project is helping JD to create a book of his own, that is another post next time.

 

Mother’s Day Celebration - Kindy

JD’s kindy organised a morning tea for all the mums.  Earlier that week, a little note was posted on the notice board saying “Dear mum, you have been so busy, come and enjoy a relaxing morning tea with us on Friday.”

When I turned up that morning, I was more than happy to see all the other mums there, but also because the teachers have told all the little 4yos that:

“Yes, your mum will be here for morning tea”

“But, you are to remain in the classroom”

“This is a special time and opportunity for your mum have a little rest”

“Only mums are allowed those yummy cakes, Tim Tams, chocolate swiss rolls”

“They are for your mum”

Keekee, that was nice!

Ah, so for 45 mins, I got to mingle, chat with other mums with a cup of hot tea and a slice of cake.  I got to see the beautiful flowers each of the 18 kids have made and carefully “planted” in the kindy’s ground.  I also received a special gift and drawing by my son at the end of the morning tea.

My son also said this about me.  And lucky me.  My son did not forget the fact that I came with a pair of boobs too.  I love this drawing because previously mummy just had a belly button.  Heehee.

It was nice to know that on this Mother’s Day, the teachers in school have made this day extra special for us.

Then on the same night, I went out to a local restaurant with a group of mums from JD’s kindy, altogether 10 of us.  Earlier in the year when kindy started, all of us have exhanged addresses, phone numbers, email address and etc.  As our children get to know one another, as mums, we also relaised that it was important for us to know one another.  We each have a contact list of all the 18 mums in the group.  I have even got the list saved on my desktop as I refer to it quite regularly. 

I found that so often, as mums, we get so busy rushing in and out of kindy ground before and after school.  Sometimes it’s hard for us to get any more than 2 sentences in, apart from the usual “Hi, how you going, see you later!”  Sometimes also due to our busy work schedule, we don’t have the opportunity to stop and chat. 

The dinner was so that we can talk more to one another at a different level.  We get to know each other’s name and we can stop introducing ourselves as “Hi, I am Jayden’s mum”.  It can be such a common thing to do.  I picked up a few mums along the way because I am almost driving a school bus, well, a 7 seater car is pretty good for car pooling.  I was the skipper for that night as I don’t drink because I just can’t and I am totally hopeless with anything alcoholic.

In the last school holiday, we had organised a few group play session for the kids and everything has been done with a “send” button on the email.  This time round, with the dinner, another lady and I organised to have the emails sent out 2-3 weeks ago.  We met at a local restaurant, and coincidentally, I also bumped into Karen whom was also there for a girl’s night out with all the mums from her son’s kindy.  Cool!

We spent almost a whole evening at the restaurant, and we had to reluctantly peel ourselves away from the seat, as the restaurant were starting to pack up and in the process of stacking up the tables and chairs. 

It was a good night. A night when I got to know the other mums on a more personal level.  There were even a few of us when English was not the first language, and we all got along just really well.  I talked till my voice turned coarse.  Yes, lots to talk about.  Kids.  Behaviours.  Shopping centres tantrums.  Kids fears.  Plans for baby no.3 or 4.  Or not.  Vasectomy.  Ummm.  Yes, our conversations can get pretty colourful when you have 10 women together and whom were long overdue for a night out to themselves.

I would want to do it again.  It was good.  It was fun.  It was great to be surrounded by a bunch of girls.  Because lately, I find myself needing more and more of genuine female friendships.  Ladies whom are experiencing and going through the every day experience. 

 

 

 

Parenting: Activities for a young toddler

A while ago, Ailing asked me to share some of the activities I do to entertain and occupy Chloe.  Chloe is currently 16 months old, I work from home and with many other kids at the same time.  So keeping the young ones occupied are what I do everyday and it keeps them happy and smiley.  Little children thrive on lots of play, interactions, talking, mimicking, laughing.  A lot of the activities we do are simple, cheap, and provide hours of fun.

Baby bath - Most kids love a good water play.  So get the baby bath tub from the bathroom, pour some water into it, put some soap in if you like, throw a couple of baby dolls into the bath and they have hours of fun washing the baby with a little towel. 

Safety note on water play - Always supervise your children directly during water play.  When water play is finished, always remember to tip the water out and store the buckets/tubs away. 

Spray bottle - We get some spray bottles from the 2 dollars shop, fill it with some water and they could have lots of fun spraying, squirting the water onto the bathroom walls, mirrors, fence, floor…

Pasta- Get some uncooked penne pasta, or elbows or macaroni, pour them into a big bowl and get the little ones to sort them into different cups.  And when they are about 18 months or so, you can also get the little ones to do some threading through the penne pasta.  Great for fine motor, hand eye coordination.  And when the threading is done, it can be tied into a necklace for the little ones.

Play-dough- We make our own play-dough at home.  You can create all types of colours, mixed in some uncooked rice, glitter.  The process of kneading of the play-dough provides the little ones with great sensory skills, feeling the texture of the play-dough in their little hands.  Give them a rolling pin to flatten the play-dough.  And when they are rolling the play-dough, you can also add in singing “Roll, roll, roll your dough, roll them flat and square…”.  So, they see the connection of the actions and words, and it’s a great activity for kids of any age.

Painting- I have always liked involving my kids in painting.  Painting with brush, sponges, balls, cotton wool, hand painting, chopsticks for dot painting.  Most children would enjoy painting, though they would usually start up in single stroke, before progressing to doing circles, zig zag, swirling and etc.  They love watching the colours on the paper, mixing the colours, getting their hands dirty. 

As a tip - During painting session, I usually prepare a small bucket of water with a clean sponge in it.  Once the kids are done with painting, I would quickly wipe the colours of their little hands, towel dry, before walking into the house to wash it again with soapy water.  That way, you can avoid incidents when their little colourful hands might accidentally dirty the walls or furniture.

Balls - Balls of all types and sizes.  Chloe loves sorting balls into buckets.  And I love it when a ball has rolled under the sofa, coffee table, dining table or etc.  You see the little ones with bums up in the air, trying to reach for the ball.  That is a great thing for them to do as going under a table, chair helps to develop their spatial awareness.  Encourage them to reach for and find the missing ball. 

Music- Put a CD on, dance to the music, beating to the rhythm of the music, repeating the same music CD over and over again for weeks.  Sometimes I have Chloe shaking the maracas while I tap her on the back to the rhytym of the music.  Sometimes I will sing “Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake shake shake shake, stop!”.  And she will stop shaking the maracas when i say stop.  It’s about learning and understanding the command.  Plus music is fun.

I have been listening to the same music CD with JD and Chloe in the car for weeks, but the repetition works for them.  She learn the songs, she hears the same words over and over again, she does the actions when she hears the songs and all that help in their language skills.  I may have just taught her the actions once or twice, but because I keep playing the same music CD, by the 3rd and 4th time, she has learnt the actions of the whole song. 

Library - Bring your little ones to the library.  Let them pick a book, and you pick some for them too.  At the local library, we usually have story time.  Encourage your little ones to sit still on the floor, listening to the stories, highlighting to them the pictures and so forth. 

At home, we read a story together during mid-morning, once before the afternoon nap and once again before bed time in the evening.  It’s great bonding them for parent and child.  Also, it gives everyone that 10-15 mins to just quieten down and enjoy a quiet reading time.

Books - Have lots of hard cover books for the little ones.  Provide them the opportunity to flip through the pages, and talk to themselves about what they see.   

Sand play - Bring your child to the local park, and great if there’s a sandpit at the park.  Throw in a few buckets, funnels, sift, old kitchen utensils, old teapot and the young ones would have so much fun just tipping the sand from one pot to the other, seeing the sand flowing through the funnel…and they are already learning about gravity and science at this young age

Walk in the park-  I like walking.  So I usually put Chloe in the pram, JD on his bike or scooter and off we go for a walk.  Talk to your child about the trees, the sounds of the car driving past, the birds chirping, spotting the red car, blue car or whatever and if you don’t mind, let them crawl on the grass, walk on the grass bare-feet to give them a feel of their feet without shoes! 

When Chloe was crawling, I used to crawl together with her on the grass, rolling a ball at the same time and let her chase the ball.  It’s great fun!  And I also pretty much let her crawl freely in our back garden, and let her pick up the leaves, the flowers, squish it in her hands.   

Tupperware/Plastic Containers Drawer - I have one of my bottom kitchen drawers stack with all sorts of plastic wares, cups, containers.  Chloe would visit the drawer at least once a day, fitting the right lid to the right container, stacking up the plastic cups, putting the bowls on her head and trying to balance it…and this usually happen when I am preparing the dinner.  Don’t worry about the mess, you can always pack it all back again.

Knobs and switches - Now tell me which kid doesn’t like to turn on the DVD player, pressing the buttons on the remote control.  Recently we throw in a whole heap of old remote controls, bunch of keys, padlocks, switches in a big box and man, did the kids have fun!  Some kids would try to find the right key to open the padlock, some are just happy to press the buttons on the old remote control while Chloe was just happy to keep pressing the on/off button on the old light switches.  See, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

Box - Box of any size and shapes.  Shoe box, tissues box!  These are great for posting.  I usually stuff a few scarfs into the tissue box and let Chloe pull the scarf out and stuff it back into the box again.  Or keep a few old tissues box and let them stack up high before demolishing the tower :)  Kids love watching the boxes fall!

If you have a big box, cut out holes on opposite sides, make it into doors for the little ones to crawl through.  Or you can play peek-a-boo by opening one of the doors when they are in the box and you would hear fits of laughter when they see you opening the door!

Dress ups - Recycled some of your old unused handbags, scarf, hats, shirts, skirts….the little ones love trying on the different clothes and walking around in it!

And since Christmas is just around the corner…

Xmas decorations - Stuff a big empty box with tinsels, baubles (big ones), gift wrap in your living room and let the little ones rummage through it.  Watch them decorate themselves with tinsels, it’s good fun!

 

Watch over you

Where there was just one, we focus all our time and energy on him

Then when there were two, we focus more time and energy on them

There have been lots of beautiful days

Watching the 2 of them grow

But the beauty of having 2 so far

Has been the bond between them

It grows stronger everyday

Sometimes spoken, sometimes simply

Just by him wanting to walk behind her

And as he said ” So I can watch out for Kai Yee”

PS - JD prefers to call her by Kai Yee than Chloe

 

Taming The Tongue

I was listening to this message by Anthony Palmieri the other day.  He talks about Taming the Tongue and it really helps me to remember why I need to do that, and why it is so important to practise it in our daily lives.

So often, when I get tired, I become impatient, and I made the error of saying things to myself (self-talk), my husband, my kids that were never meant to be said.  And more often than not, those words when spoken were never really true or uplifting at all.  But we made mistakes, and the ability to hold back our tongue, to speak a bit slower takes a lot of practice and comes with maturity in a person. 

Sometimes in my head I go through this self-talk  ”I am sick and tired of all these…” “I have enough of it…” “I just want to go sleep…” “JD, stop it, you are driving me crazy”…. and etc etc

Palmieri said that the tongue is the strongest muscle in our body, though small in size but it’s strong and powerful.  Just think about the different tastes we experience in a day, all the various tastebuds.  Apparently, every individual tongue also has its own individual tongue print.   

But he also said that words we speak, the words we use, the words we hear can shape a person’s life and how they feel about themselves.  Imagine how we feel during the morning when our partners say to us “I love you, have a good day with the kids”.  The sense of appreciation when he says “Hon, thank you for the dinner”.  The warmth we feel when our kids greet us with “How was your day daddy?” as he comes home from work.  Or when they cheerfully say to us “Have fun mommy, I love you” when we go to work.   

But imagine the hurts when we argue with one another.  When words were exchanged in the heat of argument.  Words like “You drive me crazy!”…”You never help me anyway…” “Why should I love you”…Ah, sometimes those words can hurt and make a situation worst.

And then perhaps words that have stuck with us from childhood that have shaped us to believeing we are that person otherwise.  That could be both positive and negative words.  Sometimes, unfortunately, negative words spoken by our elders to us could lead a scar in our lives, and thus hindering us in some ways.  The wounds left by the words spoken could take a great amount of time to heal, before he/she is able to let go of the past.

So, the tongue if used in the right way can become a powerful tool in our daily lives.  That leads me to reflect, how do I speak to my husband?  How do I speak to my kids?  Do I lash out at them when I am tired?  How do I speak to a group of children to get their attention?  How do I warn my kids without having to shout at them? How do I discipline our kids in a firm, gentle way without any screaming or shouting? 

And Palmeiri left us with this to reflect on.  Think before you speak.

T.H.I.N.K.  when broken it down…

T - Is it truthful?

H - It is helpful?

I - Is it inspiring?

N - Is it nurturing?

K - Is it kind?    

If it’s none of the above, then it’s best we hold back our tongue, turn away, take a deep breath, think about what we need to say before uttering anything.

As it says in James 1:19 “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

I was inspired by the sermon that Sunday, to hear more, go here.

 

I.Suck.At.Playdates.

I. Suck. At. Playdates.

Here I am, after 3.5 hours of playdate, I am out.  Arggh.  I suck at it because I never seem to enjoy playdates.  Playdates are meant for the kids and perhaps a chance (if any) for the adults to catch up, but I find myself constantly watching over my 2 kids, someone else’s kid, mindful of what goes on, praising good behaviour, frown at the undesirables and the sad truth is I can’t hold a conversation with an adult for anything more than 5 minutes.

Sometimes playdates are fun, sometimes not.  I know it is because every kid is different.  Different expectations.  Different upbringing.  Different styles altogether. 

But I seem to have the most trouble with this one where the other child is older than JD by 5 months.  They seem to fight over toys a lot more, that when one volunteer to help, only to have another one rushing to outdo him, the competitiveness was just making them fight.  Constantly.

And then the rules.  I said before that I hate nagging.  And playdates aren’t fun when I find myself having to repeat the rules over and over again, referee them, working out whom was right, whom was wrong, whom to say sorry, whom to say it’s okay…arggh! 

And then the T.E.A.R.S.  When all else fail, one will cry, while the other one standing there pretending to look like a stunned mullet**!   He said he did, he said he didn’t, he said he did it first, he said he didn’t.

And then what happened when one was really trying to be nice and only to have another one trying to push him away. 

And I have tried changing the environments.  Sometimes at my place, sometimes at the other child’s home.

Today it was at the other child’s home and later at the nearby park.  They still fight, one will take other’s ball, run away, knowing the other one couldn’t run as fast. 

It just didn’t feel fun for me.  It just felt so hectic.  So full on. 

Because it felt almost like a day of work for me. 

As I am typing, I also realise that perhaps these 2 kids are probably just at very different level of play eventhough they are just 5 months apart.  But problems always seem to occur when the playdate involves an older child.   This is not the first time already.  I sensed the same struggle previously when we met up with another child (also a boy) that was about 4-5 mths older than JD.

The older child would think JD is “kiddish” and call his play silly.  JD of course would fight back, saying “It’s not silly, it’s fun!” Then the other one would stir him again by snatching his ball and hide it up the tree…JD get frustrated and cried…Then one of us would interfere, and fight was over.  Not long later, something would happened again, and by then, I am just ready to pack and go home!

Conclusion:  Stick to playdates with kids of the same age!  In our case at least.

And while this might sound over the top, I was very close to a meltdown myself after the whole playdate.  I just want to go home, and sleep in a dark room.

But at least I didn’t suck at making food for the playdate.  Beef meatballs marinated with sesame oil, kecap manis, black pepper, chopped onions.  When it’s cooked, lay them on a mini muffin cups, and the kids can tuck into them easily!

** Stunned Mullet - An Australian slang, someone who is looking at you with a total lack of comprehension, somebody who is ‘on another planet’ (www.slangsite.com)
 

 

Reciprocated Love

So often, as parents, we do a lot for our little ones.  A lot of it is purely and simply out of love for them.  Because we made them, because we brought them into the world, because we raise them, nurture them, and the amount of energy we put into parenthood would hopefully one day give them wonderful childhood memories, and that they will one day do the same for others.

Yesterday afternoon, when the 2 kids were sleeping, I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading and then took a light nap on the sofa.  Not long later, I heard JD woken up and I thought he was going to wake me up.  Well, he didn’t.  I could see him tip toe around me, lying quietly on the sofa next to me, then walking into the kitchen to get himself a drink.  After about 10-15 mins, I heard him walking back into his room.

Then “whoosh” and a quilt landed on me. He has gone back into his room to get me his quilt!  He put the quilt on me and said to me “this will keep you warm mommy”.

Isn’t it beautiful, such a gentle gesture, such loving, caring little boy…and I guess he must have felt so loved every morning when we put the quilt on him as he sits on the sofa having his milk because we always say to him “the morning air is chilly, this will keep you nice and warm.”

JD is my sweet little boy.  Very sweet.

And I believe we can ditch that nursery rhyme of “What are boys made of?” Because I am pretty sure boys are not made of “snips and snails, and puppy-dogs’ tails”  and they should share the same rhyme to girls, as boys are also made of “Sugar and spice, and everything nice!”

 

JD’s Monologue

About a year ago, JD started to get into this role play game with his dinosours, teddies, and he will act out different scenarios with his toys.  And then it stopped.

Then when he was about 3.5 yo, I sometimes found it really hard trying to get a message through his head.  Sometimes I feel like I am just repeating what I said over and over again, having the same discussion with him day in day out, which sometimes frustrates me.  I hate nagging, seriously do, hate it to the guts, nagging to me just sounds terrible, it drives me crazy, up the wall and I just want to crush nagging if I can!

So then I decided.  Role play!  We role play everything between us!  Every situation I like to improve.  From being thrifty, not buying new toys, not eating too many treats, brushing teeth after having sugary stuff, basic manners of greeting others….

Maybe it has finally worked.  Because I have noticed JD speaking out loud in his own monologue when trying to figure out a situation.

JD was allowed some jelly beans last week.  The reason was because his pre-kindy held a end of term picnic party.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it due to work.  And Phil couldn’t take time off.  I explained to JD that we couldn’t be there, but that other kids parents would be there.  I didn’t know how he would react when the real situation arise.  His teacher said he looked sad when he saw other parents arrived, but he didn’t cry, he accepted the situation with grace and when I picked him up he said to me ”mommy, you couldn’t go because you were busy at work, is alright mommy, you can come again next time.”

So he deserved a treat.  Previously, I would nag nag nag about how many jelly beans he was allowed, almost threaten to snatch the packet of him sometimes if he doesn’t stop at 4 jelly beans, nag him to brush his teeth after having them and etc.  It would drive me nuts. 

But role play has been my latest tool, and it is getting sharper and sharper everyday!

Just today, as we walked holding hands to the shop, JD replay a situation in his own head by thinking out loud in his own little dialogue.

“Hey mommy, I am going to have some jelly beans”

“Mommy said, okay, one for each hand”

“Then when I finish, I will say to mommy, mommy I finish already”

“Then mommy will say go brush your teeth now”

“And I will say okay, I will brush my teeth now!”

Brilliant, no nagging, but he got the whole thing worked out, and honestly, I haven’t had to fight or nag with him over how many jelly beans he was allowed, he knows only 2 allowed each time, he goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth after having his treat…it’s great.

I love this!

And he has many monoglogues of his own, some are just day to day stuff, like getting ready in the morning for pre-kindy, about taking turns for toys, packing up after play time, about routine at pre-kindy, about safety when riding bike on the street…

Pretty much he answers his own questions, with some or very little guidance..and that’s what I like to see, working through a situation by thinking out loud, rather than whinging, crying, arguing, or the incessant “why nots” over a situation. 

Personally, in my case, I felt that role play works better than threats, time outs, naugthy chair, quiet spot or whatever u call it, or sometimes raising our voice just to get a message through.   I stay calm, he stays calm, we stay positive, and it’s a win-win at the end.    

Positive parenting I strive for everyday!  Not losing my nerve keeps me sane! Happy parenting is essential for lifetime parenthood!

 

Parenting Challenged

I thought I have put that incident to rest. But my parenting role was being challenged again. My MIL decided to buy JD a toy machine gun this time. She very well know my stand on this. No guns, no swords, no pretend shooting, no killing whatever … I know it probably is a natural instinct of boys at times to play guns and swords. But I am still against it, and JD knows that very well. And when I couldn’t prevent it, I always make sure it is kept to a minimum. JD knows it well, because we would have walked past a toy aisle in the shop with guns countless times, and that I have said NO each time to getting a gun for him.

My MIL knows my stand on this, but yet she decided to ignore it, and satisfy her own desire of pleasing her grandchild. My husband and I have said to her many times not to get it.

But how could a 3.5 yo contain his joy when he sees that gift? That his grandma has promised him a surprise present he has been patiently waiting for all night. My heart wrenched when I saw that. I felt hurt. I felt dissapointed. I was lost for words. I wasn’t happy.

But I still reminded JD to observe his manners, by thanking his grandma for the surprise.

He was elated. He said he loves it. He said he has always wanted one. He couldn’t stop playing it all night. In the morning, I was woken up by the sound of the machine gun. My head was going crazy with the sounds of the machine gun firing away, at the same time a baby crying for a feed, the kettle boiling away, me trying to fix breakfast for myself and the 2 kids, hubby watching the morning news in the background…

I thought about it this morning and I made the decision to have a word with my MIL. Sometimes, things need to be said for it to be taken seriously.

And I did. She happened to come by again this afternoon. I said that as parents, me and Phil, we are very much against children playing with guns, swords or ammunition of any sorts. It was nice that as a grandparent, she knew what would bring joy to JD. As a parent, I totally understand her heart and intentions. However, I also made a point to say that this would be the first and last “ammunition” toys she would get for JD or any of my kids in the future.

The intention was right, but just not the gift. A bit like advertising at times!

I hope my words on this matter have been taken seriously this time. Because parenting is made harder when we are not consistent. Because I felt once again I have to justify my own parenting decision. Because parenting is hard it is at times, and I don’t need to be thrown another surprise again.

So I hope I have put this matter to rest and that my words have been taken seriously. Because I was serious when I said what I said.

I don’t wish to take a pic of the machine gun, because I don’t even wish to glorify it!

Anyway, that said, I know I will look back on this matter one day and have a good laugh!

 

Happy Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I celebrate…

- That I have been a mom for almost 4 years
- That I have a mom that has been mothering for 40 years
- That I never knew I could love a child that much
- That I am capable of so much love
- That being a mom requires me to be so humble, patient while keeping my sanity

And….

- I redefine the whole new meaning of “multi-tasking” again
- I can actually survive on so little sleep some days
- I could actually wipe away the memory of labour pain
- All I listen to in the car is The Wiggles
- That having children bring out the best and worst in me at times
- Most importantly, I learn about loving unconditionally

But never did I realise…

- I could still be wiping those little bottoms and noses for many years to come
- That I will always have eyes at the back of my head
- That I will always be listening out for noises when I sleep at night
- That I will be feeding their hungry mouths for many many years to come
- That those damn little clothes, underwear, singlets are a pain to hang out and fold
- That I will be chauffeuring them from one spot to another day in day out for a very long time
- That it is absolutely normal if I go to work with some breakfast cereals still stuck in my hair

Also, realising the lesson that

- Having children can test and strengthened a marriage

And the hard truth that…

- That in the cold winter night of minus 3 deg c, I will still be the one waking up to a crying baby
- That I need to repeat myself 300 times before anything gets into their ears

Ah, motherhood. Hard as it may be at times.

Truth is, I love It because it is both a humbling and rewarding experience.

So, JD and I got together today to make some chocolate cupcakes for his primary caregiver, Andrea at daycare. Apart from me and hubby, Andrea has been the next person that has loved, cared our kids, not forgetting feeding them, wiping their bottoms, rocking them, while we left them in her care. She is like another mommy to our kids when we are away at work.

And to all the mommies out there, have a wonderful Mother’s Day this Sunday!