Today is Coco's birthday. To think I almost forgot to blog about it.
I didn't manage to book the chalet for her this week, so we decided to postpone it to next week although it's quite close to her SA1.
I bought a pre-ordered Winx Club 'Party Time' birthday cake for her and we celebrated at my mother's place. Oops! I forgot that she asked if we could do away with the birthday song. We sang it anyway. I was too busy recording and taking pictures.
It's really quite funny. Her presents are Harry Potter books - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince. The Harry Potter bookworm!
Sunday 19 April 2009
Baby at 6th month
Baby is starting to flip on her side, but it's an ardous task for her it seems. We have to help her flip.
Recently, she's starting to reject the bland brown rice cereal. So today, I mixed it with her milk and sure enough, she liked the taste of it. However, mixing it with milk makes the cereal lumpy. Cooking it over fire doesn't solve the problem either.
She seems to get hungry at closer intervals now. I think that's a cue for me to give her more feeds on her cereal and start some fruit purees.
So next on the list is the book 'First Foods'. I just saw it at Popular today and it seems a good book. It has recipes on simple food preparations like fruit and vegetable purees, and the book can last till the baby reaches 24 months.
A parenting website 'Baby Weekly' states that Baby would be a social butterfly at this stage. She would smile and make friends with whoever she meets. And how true is that! Even in the lifts, in the queue at the bank, in the restaurant, in the eatery, outside the changing room, at the traffic lights, people look at her and make comments of all sorts ie. 'She looks exactly like her father', 'She's adorable', 'She's super cute', 'She's very fair' and smile at her, and she smiles back.
Recently, she's starting to reject the bland brown rice cereal. So today, I mixed it with her milk and sure enough, she liked the taste of it. However, mixing it with milk makes the cereal lumpy. Cooking it over fire doesn't solve the problem either.
She seems to get hungry at closer intervals now. I think that's a cue for me to give her more feeds on her cereal and start some fruit purees.
So next on the list is the book 'First Foods'. I just saw it at Popular today and it seems a good book. It has recipes on simple food preparations like fruit and vegetable purees, and the book can last till the baby reaches 24 months.
A parenting website 'Baby Weekly' states that Baby would be a social butterfly at this stage. She would smile and make friends with whoever she meets. And how true is that! Even in the lifts, in the queue at the bank, in the restaurant, in the eatery, outside the changing room, at the traffic lights, people look at her and make comments of all sorts ie. 'She looks exactly like her father', 'She's adorable', 'She's super cute', 'She's very fair' and smile at her, and she smiles back.
Connecta and Pettiskirts reviews
I got the Connecta yesterday afternoon!
At first look, I was a little disappointed as I felt that the material would be too warm for Baby and me. It feels like a little felt on the inside where Baby is wrapped. And when I tied it up on myself, I felt that there were too many straps left dangling around, unlike the Chicco carrier my sister passed down to me.
After using it today, I like it for its lightweight. I don't feel that it's rigid like the Chicco carrier. It's a bit warm, but I should think it's still fine. I can see myself using it quite often. Very easy to use, although I still need some help to buckle it up. Above all, I like the floral pattern on it. My fifth sister thought it's pretty.
I also got the pettiskirts yesterday. Thanks to my youngest sister's boyfriend who lives in Jurong West! He's really very nice. Not only did he help to pick up the skirts, he also delivered them to my place and after that, sent Coco and I to my IT HOD's daughter's wedding.
The pettiskirts caught the eyes of the little girls we walked past in the malls. One indian girl was talking to her parents when Coco walked by and she pointed at Coco's skirt, shouting,"Ah Ma! Ah Ma!" She was trying to get her parents to look at the skirt. Another Malay girl's eyes followed the skirt wherever Coco went.
The skirts are truly gorgeous! I don't have another word for it. I would want to wear them if I were much much younger. I love them so much I change my mind about giving one of them to my niece. I saw another bulk purchase on pettiskirts, albeit from another source, and enquired on them. Unfortunately, the person in charge is offering me a higher price than the bulk purchase price. I replied her to try my luck to see if she could offer me the bulk purchase price.
At first look, I was a little disappointed as I felt that the material would be too warm for Baby and me. It feels like a little felt on the inside where Baby is wrapped. And when I tied it up on myself, I felt that there were too many straps left dangling around, unlike the Chicco carrier my sister passed down to me.
After using it today, I like it for its lightweight. I don't feel that it's rigid like the Chicco carrier. It's a bit warm, but I should think it's still fine. I can see myself using it quite often. Very easy to use, although I still need some help to buckle it up. Above all, I like the floral pattern on it. My fifth sister thought it's pretty.
I also got the pettiskirts yesterday. Thanks to my youngest sister's boyfriend who lives in Jurong West! He's really very nice. Not only did he help to pick up the skirts, he also delivered them to my place and after that, sent Coco and I to my IT HOD's daughter's wedding.
The pettiskirts caught the eyes of the little girls we walked past in the malls. One indian girl was talking to her parents when Coco walked by and she pointed at Coco's skirt, shouting,"Ah Ma! Ah Ma!" She was trying to get her parents to look at the skirt. Another Malay girl's eyes followed the skirt wherever Coco went.
The skirts are truly gorgeous! I don't have another word for it. I would want to wear them if I were much much younger. I love them so much I change my mind about giving one of them to my niece. I saw another bulk purchase on pettiskirts, albeit from another source, and enquired on them. Unfortunately, the person in charge is offering me a higher price than the bulk purchase price. I replied her to try my luck to see if she could offer me the bulk purchase price.
Thursday 16 April 2009
Sofie and other online purchase relish
I bought a Sofie for Baby.
It's a teether made from natural rubber, supposed to be 'immensely popular' with mummies all over the world. I was a little disappointed though. It looks and feels like any other normal rubber squeaky toys, just that rubber smell is quite strong. Perhaps I harbour too high a hope for it. $35 for a squeaky toy - if I look at it that way.
There are some unfavourable reviews on it, that it's a choking hazard. The legs in particular, as it's very long for babies short throats. But like what some mummies say, which toy on the shelf doesn't pose a hazard to babies? I'll see how Baby reacts to it and delay my judgment on it for a while.
My connecta has arrived in Singapore! I should be getting it either Saturday or Monday. Now I understand how those mummies in the forum feel when they say they look forward to receiving their purchases in the mailbox. It's like some sort of surprise. True, you have seen it in picture, and bought it already. But it feels different when it turns up in flesh.
The next item on the agenda is a Bumbo seat. A mummy in the forum has offered to sell me hers and offered free delivery. Will update again when I lay my hands on it. Actually, the pettiskirts should really materialise after such a long wait. The organiser kept saying 'at the end of March', 'in the 3rd week of April', and now '1 to 2 weeks'. I hope it's not another Bulk Purchase scam. I paid more than $200 for the skirts.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Someone called this 'Annual Song and Dance'
My bi-annual lesson observation is finally over.
It's been a lot of stress over this observation thingy. To prepare for it, besides planning the lesson and sourcing for the resources, I had to rack my brain for ideas. After all, how interesting can a writing lesson be? My colleague with 15 years experience asked me what's there to observe for a writing lesson. And I had to 'rehearse' with the kids using a similar activity. I was really worried when they couldn't do it without more guidance. I used to have some high-ability kids who were able to do anything you have in mind without much instructions. On top of all this, I had to submit the lesson plan in advance, so it's double stress.
Thanks to Hui Yi who gave me ideas to make the lesson plan colourful. I included a role-play-cum-freeze-frame on robbery and uploaded videos on robbery to show the kids.
Then I used the newspaper article method to elicit words related to the topic.
I think my RO was pretty impressed. She gave me a thumb's up before she left.
Actually, I had a nightmare about lesson observation just last night. I dreamt that I didn't prepare aptly - I had to rush a few floors down at the time of my lesson to zap some stuff at least twice. It was very messy in the dream. Lots of panic moments.
I'm just glad it's over - for a few months at least.
I don't know why I'm just so unlucky. Others tell me that their ROs didn't observe them for a year because they were too busy, or observe them just once a year. But my observation never fails to be twice a year.
It's been a lot of stress over this observation thingy. To prepare for it, besides planning the lesson and sourcing for the resources, I had to rack my brain for ideas. After all, how interesting can a writing lesson be? My colleague with 15 years experience asked me what's there to observe for a writing lesson. And I had to 'rehearse' with the kids using a similar activity. I was really worried when they couldn't do it without more guidance. I used to have some high-ability kids who were able to do anything you have in mind without much instructions. On top of all this, I had to submit the lesson plan in advance, so it's double stress.
Thanks to Hui Yi who gave me ideas to make the lesson plan colourful. I included a role-play-cum-freeze-frame on robbery and uploaded videos on robbery to show the kids.
Then I used the newspaper article method to elicit words related to the topic.
I think my RO was pretty impressed. She gave me a thumb's up before she left.
Actually, I had a nightmare about lesson observation just last night. I dreamt that I didn't prepare aptly - I had to rush a few floors down at the time of my lesson to zap some stuff at least twice. It was very messy in the dream. Lots of panic moments.
I'm just glad it's over - for a few months at least.
I don't know why I'm just so unlucky. Others tell me that their ROs didn't observe them for a year because they were too busy, or observe them just once a year. But my observation never fails to be twice a year.
Saturday 11 April 2009
The disgusting newspaper vendor II
Oh yes, he's in the papers again.
This time round, his comatose 'bride' is taken home by her mother, without his knowledge.
Yay!!!
He kept saying that the girl's mother ought to repay him $70, 000 for the hospitalisation bill and $30, 000 for the girl's living expenses. Crazy! Now that she's gone, he asked the reporter,"Who am I going to ask for the $30 000?"
And you know what he says now? "I will take it that she's dead and will find another Vietnamese girl to be my wife."
So much for the loving image he's portrayed. I actually teared the first time I read about him keeping vigil by his comatose bride in The New Paper, and told Coco that I'm touched by his love for his wife. Now I know what they mean by 'it's not what it seems'.
Oh, for the record, this is not his first marriage to a foreign bride. He married an Indonesian girl (some foreign girl, can't remember the details) for 4 months and she ran away. Then he tried to fix himself up with a Vietnamese girl and she ran away on the pretext of going to the toilet while on a date. Even these poor village girls don't want him.
The best thing is, he blames it all on those girls. What a loser!
This time round, his comatose 'bride' is taken home by her mother, without his knowledge.
Yay!!!
He kept saying that the girl's mother ought to repay him $70, 000 for the hospitalisation bill and $30, 000 for the girl's living expenses. Crazy! Now that she's gone, he asked the reporter,"Who am I going to ask for the $30 000?"
And you know what he says now? "I will take it that she's dead and will find another Vietnamese girl to be my wife."
So much for the loving image he's portrayed. I actually teared the first time I read about him keeping vigil by his comatose bride in The New Paper, and told Coco that I'm touched by his love for his wife. Now I know what they mean by 'it's not what it seems'.
Oh, for the record, this is not his first marriage to a foreign bride. He married an Indonesian girl (some foreign girl, can't remember the details) for 4 months and she ran away. Then he tried to fix himself up with a Vietnamese girl and she ran away on the pretext of going to the toilet while on a date. Even these poor village girls don't want him.
The best thing is, he blames it all on those girls. What a loser!
Baby's first solid feeding and other rambles
Things to get done by this weekend:
1) Remedial lesson plan and worksheet
2) English Level practice paper for SA1
3) Rehearse my lesson observation and prepare materials that's not forseen in my lesson plan
4) Finish marking my composition books
5) Finish watching that Stellar VCD
Baby has started on her Si Shen brown rice cereal yesterday.
She seemed to take it well. She didn't reject it and amazingly, or ridiculously as I like to call it, she is able to swallow it, or at least it appears that way to me. She didn't spit it out. It was a little bit of a mess though since it's her first solid feeding experience.
Some useful tips from 'Baby Weekly' on feeding Baby:
'It will take a little time for your baby to learn how to move the cereal from the front of her mouth to the back of her throat because swallowing a solid requires a different motion than sucking a liquid. She will initially try to suck at the cereal and her tongue will push half of it back out, but she will quickly catch on. Once she gets used to the idea and begins eating more than she spits out, increase the amount of cereal to a few tablespoons each day. Gradually thicken the consistency of the cereal and then add another feeding each day. Your baby should be able to eat about one half cup of thick cereal each day before you add other solid food.
Once your baby is eating the rice cereal well and isn't showing any sign of allergic reaction (such as a rash), try introducing some mashed or strained fruits and vegetables. Introduce one fruit or vegetable at a time and stick with it for a few days before introducing another. By doing this, you can identify which food causes an allergic reaction, if one occurs.
Your baby should be eating solid foods three times a day by about 8 months of age.'
I dreamt about myself donning Coco's school uniform and taking her to Pasir Ris in the same getup. Halfway through the journey, I lost her! I panicked and kept calling different people to check whether she's with them. Even in the dream, I imagined that she was kidnapped by a taxi-driver when she decided to take a cab home after losing me. After some hassle and lots of anxiety and worry, my third sister told me she's reached my mother's place.
Whew!
I think it's the planning of her birthday party. We've decided to go for a chalet at Pasir Ris for her birthday. I've been trying to plan it out on my own. Kept going into the link for Costa Sands Resorts. Kept thinking about what to do there. Wild Wild Wet, Escape Theme Park, barbeque ... I'm thinking about taking her to the Pasir Ris Park cum Beach too but I'm not sure where I can find the time to. One day at the Theme Park, another at Wild Wild Wet. Wow, even a 3D2N's itinerary cannot accommodate the Park-Beach trip.
I've placed an order for the Connecta. I hadn't ordered one in the previous Bulk Purchases (there were two before this) because I didn't fancy any of the designs. The one that caught my eye this time round is this:
I simply love tiny floral prints, and on brown background at that. The best thing is that it comes with a hood, which other ready stocks don't have. It even has a tinge of gypsy about it: it's called 'Esmerelda'. It's the very name of the gypsy, albeit different spelling, in Hunchback of Notre Dame.
1) Remedial lesson plan and worksheet
2) English Level practice paper for SA1
3) Rehearse my lesson observation and prepare materials that's not forseen in my lesson plan
4) Finish marking my composition books
5) Finish watching that Stellar VCD
Baby has started on her Si Shen brown rice cereal yesterday.
She seemed to take it well. She didn't reject it and amazingly, or ridiculously as I like to call it, she is able to swallow it, or at least it appears that way to me. She didn't spit it out. It was a little bit of a mess though since it's her first solid feeding experience.
Some useful tips from 'Baby Weekly' on feeding Baby:
'It will take a little time for your baby to learn how to move the cereal from the front of her mouth to the back of her throat because swallowing a solid requires a different motion than sucking a liquid. She will initially try to suck at the cereal and her tongue will push half of it back out, but she will quickly catch on. Once she gets used to the idea and begins eating more than she spits out, increase the amount of cereal to a few tablespoons each day. Gradually thicken the consistency of the cereal and then add another feeding each day. Your baby should be able to eat about one half cup of thick cereal each day before you add other solid food.
Once your baby is eating the rice cereal well and isn't showing any sign of allergic reaction (such as a rash), try introducing some mashed or strained fruits and vegetables. Introduce one fruit or vegetable at a time and stick with it for a few days before introducing another. By doing this, you can identify which food causes an allergic reaction, if one occurs.
Your baby should be eating solid foods three times a day by about 8 months of age.'
I dreamt about myself donning Coco's school uniform and taking her to Pasir Ris in the same getup. Halfway through the journey, I lost her! I panicked and kept calling different people to check whether she's with them. Even in the dream, I imagined that she was kidnapped by a taxi-driver when she decided to take a cab home after losing me. After some hassle and lots of anxiety and worry, my third sister told me she's reached my mother's place.
Whew!
I think it's the planning of her birthday party. We've decided to go for a chalet at Pasir Ris for her birthday. I've been trying to plan it out on my own. Kept going into the link for Costa Sands Resorts. Kept thinking about what to do there. Wild Wild Wet, Escape Theme Park, barbeque ... I'm thinking about taking her to the Pasir Ris Park cum Beach too but I'm not sure where I can find the time to. One day at the Theme Park, another at Wild Wild Wet. Wow, even a 3D2N's itinerary cannot accommodate the Park-Beach trip.
I've placed an order for the Connecta. I hadn't ordered one in the previous Bulk Purchases (there were two before this) because I didn't fancy any of the designs. The one that caught my eye this time round is this:
I simply love tiny floral prints, and on brown background at that. The best thing is that it comes with a hood, which other ready stocks don't have. It even has a tinge of gypsy about it: it's called 'Esmerelda'. It's the very name of the gypsy, albeit different spelling, in Hunchback of Notre Dame.Although I thought it's more practical to get the Solarweave carrier due to Singapore's humid weather, but I'm a sucker for pretty prints. I like to believe that most girls, albeit an old one, are like me - 'ai mei bu yao ming' or 'beauty before practicality'. The Solarweave carriers only come in plain colours. I like pale blue, but I find monotone boring. Maybe I'm really aging. I used to like plain when I was younger.
Sunday 5 April 2009
Things to do
It's been frustrating using the internet. It shuts down all of a sudden and it's getting more frequent.
There're quite a few things I need to do by this week, today, actually:
1) Do up a lesson plan on Group Writing on either Burglary or Robbery
2) Think up of the activity for the 5E model for Science to address the Explore/Explain portion on 'Identifying that there are different properties for each material' and inform the Head in charge and make changes to my original lesson plan for Science
3) I am sure there's a 3rd item on the list but I've forgotten what it is. Oh well, it'll come back to me.
The next 2 items to purchase, that's been on my mind recently, is a Braun handheld blender
and a Connecta baby carrier. Baby has started to like being carried in a sitting or standing position rather than being cradled since she was very little actually. Maybe when she was in her 3rd month? Or even earlier. These would come up to more than $200 though. I'll see how it goes.
There're quite a few things I need to do by this week, today, actually:
1) Do up a lesson plan on Group Writing on either Burglary or Robbery
2) Think up of the activity for the 5E model for Science to address the Explore/Explain portion on 'Identifying that there are different properties for each material' and inform the Head in charge and make changes to my original lesson plan for Science
3) I am sure there's a 3rd item on the list but I've forgotten what it is. Oh well, it'll come back to me.
The next 2 items to purchase, that's been on my mind recently, is a Braun handheld blender
and a Connecta baby carrier. Baby has started to like being carried in a sitting or standing position rather than being cradled since she was very little actually. Maybe when she was in her 3rd month? Or even earlier. These would come up to more than $200 though. I'll see how it goes.
Thursday 2 April 2009
The disgusting newspaper vendor
It's been a long time since I last updated my blog. Been too busy and tired, plus I'm busy updating ANOTHER blog for my class.
Sometimes I wanted to blog, but I would procrastinate and after a while I forgot that I wanted to blog.
Like the time when I wanted to comment on that cheapskate newspaper vendor who refuses to let his comatose Vietnamese girlfriend's mother take her home. He demands a good $30, 000 from the poor farmer if she insists on taking her home. It's so obvious that he's out for the money. The most disgusting thing about it is he claims that he's not a greedy person and has no intention of getting an insurance sum under the girl's name. The fact is, if he's the one claiming to 'own' the girl, which is what he's doing now despite having no legal relations to the girl, he gets to claim that astronomical sum of money. He refuses to let the girl's mother take her home to care for her. And claims that he'd taken care of her since she came to Singapore a few months ago, and all the expenses come up to $30, 000. Come on lah! A newspaper vendor? $30, 000 in a few months. Wah ... I also want to be a newspaper vendor. Bullshit! That's why women should never go for poor men. There're good reasons for these men to remain poor. They are just losers who can never make it in life. And very often, they are also the very same men who expect the wife to support them. Damn those Singaporean men who keeps saying that Singaporean girls are materialistic. They don't even know how to treat a lady. They are the very same men who expect the wife to work to bring home the bread, give birth to their children and support their children, and take care of their children and themselves. And when the women are too busy to look after themselves, and don't look as good as before marriage (before they are duped), these men start to show contempt for their wives, saying that they don't know how to look after themselves and start to find other women.
Even now, I am asking Coco never to accept a poor man as a boyfriend. If only I didn't accept a poor man as a boyfriend, I would never need to slog so hard now. My experiences with men have confirmed time and again that poor men are not reliable. They have a higher tendency to lie as well.
Sometimes I wanted to blog, but I would procrastinate and after a while I forgot that I wanted to blog.
Like the time when I wanted to comment on that cheapskate newspaper vendor who refuses to let his comatose Vietnamese girlfriend's mother take her home. He demands a good $30, 000 from the poor farmer if she insists on taking her home. It's so obvious that he's out for the money. The most disgusting thing about it is he claims that he's not a greedy person and has no intention of getting an insurance sum under the girl's name. The fact is, if he's the one claiming to 'own' the girl, which is what he's doing now despite having no legal relations to the girl, he gets to claim that astronomical sum of money. He refuses to let the girl's mother take her home to care for her. And claims that he'd taken care of her since she came to Singapore a few months ago, and all the expenses come up to $30, 000. Come on lah! A newspaper vendor? $30, 000 in a few months. Wah ... I also want to be a newspaper vendor. Bullshit! That's why women should never go for poor men. There're good reasons for these men to remain poor. They are just losers who can never make it in life. And very often, they are also the very same men who expect the wife to support them. Damn those Singaporean men who keeps saying that Singaporean girls are materialistic. They don't even know how to treat a lady. They are the very same men who expect the wife to work to bring home the bread, give birth to their children and support their children, and take care of their children and themselves. And when the women are too busy to look after themselves, and don't look as good as before marriage (before they are duped), these men start to show contempt for their wives, saying that they don't know how to look after themselves and start to find other women.
Even now, I am asking Coco never to accept a poor man as a boyfriend. If only I didn't accept a poor man as a boyfriend, I would never need to slog so hard now. My experiences with men have confirmed time and again that poor men are not reliable. They have a higher tendency to lie as well.
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