J's 4th Birthday

4 years ago, I cradled you in my arms.
Today, I hug you with all my love.
The days ahead, I want you to be in my heart forever. Happy 4th Birthday, my little man.

J's a blessed boy, always being showered with love by his loved ones. It's the 4th year since he arrived and he's growing into a 'bigger' little man each day.

Child Readiness

I’ve just got hit with reality reading Alicia post on “Child Readiness”. As much as I want to lay the foundations for J and was put on waiting list when I tried enquiring from the various enrichment centres since last year. When I signed up for drop-off phonics class for J last year, he attended 2 lessons and was crying so badly as if I’m abandoning him when he could see me from the door window.

I withdrew him when he started having phobia for the week. The class was on Sunday and he would ask every day from Monday before he slept if there’s class tomorrow. It was simply too stressful for a 3.5 year old. I don’t want him to have nightmare just so I thought he would be learning lots. With his fear, he probably wasn’t even able to grasp anything from the class anyway.

Beginning of the year, a Chinese enrichment centre called up that there was a slot for J. I was so eager to enroll him last year that I’ve put him on waiting list. I was excited when the centre called and arranged for a trial class. Then I tried asking J if he would be keen to play & learn in Mandarin, he hesitated and asked if I would be in the class with him. I knew then that he would develop the phobia all over again. Also, with us re-working our finances, I decided to drop the trial.

I try not to be obsessed with enrichment classes now that he’s only going to turn 4 year old, I decided to spend more time on activities with him over the weekends. As I watched him play over the last weekend, I knew he was enjoying his limited childhood. How many more years could he enjoy like that?

Thankful for Lunch!

With the series of thankful days in the month of December and we managed to catch the documentary show on "Free Lunch" last evening on TV.

The free lunch program started in China for school children in poor villages. Many of the children had to walk long distances, walk through muddy road, cross streams and climb hills just to get to school. Many of them are unable to bring food, less say a proper lunch to school. After school, they had to walk back the long distance to get home and often stopped along the way as they were tired and of course too hungry to walk further. The free lunch program gave these children a proper nutritious lunch which enable them to study better since hunger would be off their minds.

Whilst watching, we tried to give J an educational point of view. When he saw the kids drinking from a running tap, he told me "if you drink dirty water, you will get sick" I explained to him that because the children were too poor to have food and clean water, they had to drink from the tap to ease their hunger.

The children in this generation probably would never understand what hunger meant. I'm looking forward to the day where I can bring J along to overseas volunteer projects to see for himself how others are struggling in their lives while he's complaining.

Give thanks for every meal, every piece of food and every sip of water!

Thoughts on procreation

Reading beanienus post got me thinking…

I’ve always wanted a #2. I grew up with a sister who is 5 years my senior and often felt I was the ‘only’ child. While she was reaching puberty (12 years old), I was only 7, barely stepping into primary school. So, I’ve always wanted 2 kids with a closer age gap. J is turning 4 in March 2013 and I’m in no way preggie yet, which means the age gap may end up 5 or more or none at all.

I’ve discussed with the HB on this and often it lays back to the problem of finances and a whole lot of worries from my end.

Financial

We are the sandwich couple whom need to provide for 2 old folks with my FIL going through dialysis. His medical bills are close to $2k per month and it’s greatly shared by my SIL & HB.

J’s monthly childcare fees are $600 after subsidy. With #2, it means we need another $600 or definitely more for infantcare, babysitter or helper.

Logistics

I was the main caregiver for J for the first 3 years. I had to clean poo, feed & shower him and put him to sleep every day without fail while no one in the family could help. J only wants me to bring him to childcare every morning. On days when I had to work early, I had to sneak out of the house to prevent him from tagging along.

With #2, it means I have to bring J to childcare and #2 to infantcare which will most likely be 2 different locations.

Phobia

I had my fair share of Post-Natal Depression and am really afraid of going through it again. And this time, it may be double the blow since there’s #1 to manage too.

As beanienus mentioned, will we want J to grow up alone and handles everything on his own?

Simple Joy

J loves bubbles blowing. He had a hard time trying to master the technique of blowing previously. But he has since became addicted to it. We played it during bath time & on weekends.
Simple toy, simple joy.

Small spaces (linking to mum in the making)

We do not have an individual room or study room for J currently and hence use a small area beside the living room for his toys & books.

As you have probably realised, there's a mix of containers. I was practically trial & error to find the best container that fits. But since they were bought, I decided to use them.

Less frequently touched toys are left in 'locked' toyogo box. However, they can still be easily open by J when he has the mood to search for his old toys. Books are kept in open box for easy access. Frequently played toys are placed in the toys basket.

Puzzle pieces are kept in mail boxes that I've kept. Mooncake boxes are handy too, for keeping loose stuff such as play dough. Pencils, coloring pencils & crayons are kept in transparent box & educational toys with lots of loose pieces are zip-locked.

While I'm still hunting for a proper shelf to keep all these, they will do for the time being to keep the place tidy & neat and make myself sane trying to clear up every weekend.

X'mas bells are ringing...

These were last year's x'mas notes/tags that came with the gifts. I love keeping them to remind me of the sweet messages & gifts that I've received.

Another year has passed and Christmas is nearing again. December is always full of joy, love & happiness. It reminds me of my marriage, my wedding and the christmas songs in the air.

Christmas is a season of giving. I'd always look around for x'mas gifts and this year, I've decided to add a tinge of love from me. Stay tuned!