Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Hi everyone, check this out!

Thanks to Google Translate, you can now read my blog in MORE THAN FORTY LANGUAGES!

I have this little button at the very top of my page (see the purple arrow above!)

Once you click it, you’ll see a whole list of languages that you can choose from!

If you’d like to read my blog in Indonesian, for example, just click it! (like the example I did in the shot below).

I know it’s not totally perfect.

I mean, the translation is probably off here and there.

But it sure is much better than not understanding the original English version, yes?

Anyway.

Do check it out and have a go at it yourself!

Have fun checking out the other ‘foreign’ languages too, if you want =)

When my morning sickness started, I totally could NOT do much in the kitchen.

And that was when I was about 5 weeks pregnant.

I couldn’t stand the thought of cooking or baking anything. I’d gag at the slightest smell of garlic, or even the sight of raw chicken fillet. It was bad and it lasted for much longer than I initially thought it would.

[Click HERE to read baby no. 3’s weekly pregnancy journal]

But. Things have been SO much better these days!

It felt good to WANT to cook again.

And, it sure was nice to see both kids lapping up whatever meals that I put on the table. I think they really do miss home-cooked meals =)

Anyway.

We had some VERY ripe bananas the other day, and so we made banana muffins! Finally!

[Click HERE for the recipe!]

Both kids totally prepared everything. I just gave them the ingredients and they did all the pouring, the stirring, the mixing and all!

Ah. It sure was good to be making things with the kids again!

Before I share with you what ‘Open Mind’ has to do with ‘The Beach’, let me first share this story with you.

Sometime ago I chatted with a friend whose son is a very talented 9yo violin player. They live overseas.

And one thing that immediately caught my attention was how her son learns to play the violin.

Unlike the usual ‘weekly violin lessons’, he flies to Indonesia every year and has his lessons there.

Every year, he’d go to Jakarta and stay there for 7 weeks (ie. during the long school holiday break). His coach then evaluates, teaches and basically coaches him during that period (Yes, 7 weeks out of 52!)

As for the rest of the year, he practises at home with his mom! (thousands of miles away from the coach!). And if they have any questions, they’ll email the coach.

I was amazed.

Because even with this ‘unusual’ method of learning, her son plays real well and has also won music competitions!

(My friend shared with me how having a talent is one thing, but a much bigger and more important factor in all this is hard work and discipline. I totally agree with her. Having a coach who knows how to apply the right techniques and how to cultivate and drive the child’s passion for music is obviously also very important)

[Palawan beach at about 6pm. I love the dramatic sky!]

…

And there’s this one other interesting topic during our conversation.

There was this one time when the coach said to the mom (after a practice session), ‘I notice that somehow your son is not expressing himself openly when he plays the violin. It’s as if his mind is blocked or … closed-up.’

Now you see, this family lives in Hong Kong. And as we all know, you’re surrounded with buildings and walls when you live in Hong Kong. Pretty much like living in Singapore, I guess, where we move from one ‘enclosed area’ to another.

(A total opposite to living, say … in New Zealand or Switzerland, I mean)

So after that session, the coach gave a recommendation: When you’re back in Hong Kong, let your son be out in the open more regularly, eg. Visit the beach.

Let him just play at the beach, swim or even do nothing there. Let him enjoy the open space and the open air.

And that’s what they did. My friend took her son to the beach once every week.

And you know what. The very next year, when they flew to Jakarta for their ‘yearly coaching sessions’, the coach saw IMPROVEMENTS in the way this boy played the violin! ie. In the way he expressed himself through the music that he’s playing.

…

All this got me thinking about how a simple thing like enjoying the outdoors does have an impact to one’s mind.

I mean, one’s regular exposure to open spaces helps in nurturing (ie. freshening / opening) one’s mind?

Interesting, I thought. And I like it.

…

Anyway.

As a parent, I personally believe in bringing the kids out of the four walls of our Singapore home daily too. The kids get to play more freely and I get some fresh air too.

(I never consciously thought about the ‘open space and open mind’ thing prior to my conversation with my friend though)

But, going to the beach or the park a few times a week is not possible for us here in Singapore.

So, I usually encourage the kids to play outside of our tiny apartment. We’d go for a walk to the nearby market or something. Anything, as long as we’re not always ‘stuck’ within the four walls of our home (or school buildings / office / shopping malls).

And on Saturdays, we most likely be out and about, for the whole day.

Like last weekend, the kids and I went to Palawan Beach when Daddy was away on business trip!

The weather was great and we all enjoyed ourselves a lot.

The kids played with sand and water, while I sat back and read a book.

It sure was a nice late afternoon spent out in the open!

[Anya has lost a total of 3 baby teeth so far, hehe]

[And this little guy obviously needs a haircut, hehe]

[I totally recommend this book, btw. I hope I get to share a bit about it one of these days!]

[Anya dug out this ‘water hole’ all by herself and she’s obviously very happy with it!]

[Endless beach fun!]

Before the info gets too ‘out-dated’, I better share it with you today.

It’s about one of those places you can check out when you’re in Hong Kong.

It’s called Hong Kong Park.

The whole family went there on the very last day of 2010, and since it’ll be much more convenient for the older ones, we took two taxis there.

If you’re planning to check it out, it should actually be quite convenient to get there by buses or the train.

Click HERE to find out more about getting there.

Anyway, I kind of expected a much bigger park though. But then again, I guess it’s because I unconsciously had King’s Park (Perth, Australia) in mind at the time.

Still, it was a nice day out for all of us.

The weather was great, and it was nice to see lots of greenery there.

A nice change to the usual view of ‘people and buildings’ in Hong Kong!

[We didn’t get to check out all of the Park’s facilities that day, but it has an aviary, a playground and many more. Click HERE to find out more about them!]

[My 90yo grandpa and 87yo grandma! We got them to standby on that spot while Wilson took a shot of them with the nice background and lighting]

…

And err … here’s just one final photo to end end the post, hehe.

Of Anya and Vai pointing to the baby =)

PS: Do check out my other ‘Visiting Hong Kong’ posts for ideas on where to go with your family when you’re there! Have fun!

We’re featured on The New Paper today!

[Click HERE to see the actual newspaper page, and click HERE to read the online version]

…

The article is about parent bloggers who do product reviews on their sites, and how companies increasingly engage bloggers to write and share their opinions on certain products and services.

Personally, I’m very glad that the journalist included my quotes where I said:

I write [product reviews] from my point of view as a mum of two. I also make it clear to the clients that I will only say or write something that I personally believe in. I’m not out to sell the products. I will not review products that I don’t believe in as a mother, even if the company wants to give out free products on my blog.

Because really, when it comes to testing out products or services, I can’t imagine myself writing and endorsing something that is against my principles, things that are inappropriate, or things that I would not use in my own household.

Anyway.

Thanks for reading up my blog all this while. And if you’re new to my blog, WELCOME! =)

I hope you can help and share my blog URL with friends and families too, AND you’re welcome to connect with me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter, if you like =)

Have a great week ahead!

School has started.

Both don’t get to see each other as much as they used to during the school holidays.

But when they do, playtime is definitely more fun.

Because there’s each other to laugh with, play chase with, cry with, and be silly with.

…

Much better than simply sitting quietly and watching TV or a DVD.

Because when they eyes are glued to the ‘box’, yes they ARE ‘together’, but not really ‘together’. You know what I mean.

I still find it hard to believe that our Anya is already in Primary One.

I mean, we have a PRIMARY-SCHOOL-GOING daughter!

Already!

AND, Vai is now in K1 as well!

(Btw, that’s Kindergarten 1, ie. two years before he goes to Primary one here in Singapore)

…

In my head, I know that we need to face the fact that time flies, and that our children WILL grow up.

That they WILL spend even longer hours AWAY from us parents.

That they WILL be exposed to more and more external influences.

That they WILL see more of the world, the good and the bad, WITHOUT us by their side to guide them.

But in my heart, I still … wonder. About many things.

I wonder if they’ll cope well in their new environments, and with whatever academic expectations the school has on them.

I wonder if they’ll make new friends. Friends who will be of positive influence to them.

I wonder if they will be blessings to others themselves.

I wonder if they’ll pick up bad habits.

I wonder if we can continually maintain an open communication, where they get to openly tell us about school, about their worries and joys, and everything.

…

Really.

Now that they both are back at school (with Anya spending 5 – 6 hours away from us each day!), I too wonder if we’ve done our best in preparing them (especially Anya) for the challenges ahead. Morally, spiritually, emotionally, cognitively, psychologically. Everything.

Sometimes, I feel I haven’t done enough.

Like, I should’ve done … more. Or something.

Hmm. But then again, I guess it’s part and parcel of being a parent.

You know, that as parents, we most likely will feel that we should’ve done more of this and more of that, when we’re reminded of how fast time flies and how fast our little ones grow right in front of our very eyes.

…

I personally am very glad though that I’m yet again reminded of :

… how I need to be there for my children as best as I can. Because they grow up in a blink of an eye.

… how being a parent is a privilege (as well as a huge responsibility).

… how although I can’t always be there for my children, God can.

… how I need to continually pray for God to watch over these little ones, every moment of the day, like He has always been from the very moment they were entrusted in our lives.

…

Hope the year starts well with you and your family.

[Six days after the bump]

If you’ve seen our recent trip to Hong Kong’s photo updates on my Facebook, you would’ve read about Vai’s ‘accidental bump’ on the forehead.

Yep, it was a bad one.

And for the first time, I actually saw a ‘goose egg’ on my kid’s head!

[‘Goose egg‘ = swelling that may appear after a head blow, the result of the scalp’s veins leaking fluid or blood into (and under) the scalp. It may take days or even a week to disappear]

[When one’s forehead and the corner of a vending machine collided, the result is … bad]

…

It’s been 10 days since the incident, and the swelling is still there, btw.

A faint lump on the forehead.

I can see that it’s slowly going away though.

(Btw, there’re also these greenish-coloured ‘marks’ on the skin near both his eyes. I assume it’s his blood going downwards under the skin. And the marks are still there)

AND.

If you look at the top photo, you can also see this red ‘straight line’ on his right cheek. Errr … he got that in Hong Kong too, when he happily skipped around our bedroom and knocked his cheek against the metal side of the door on his way out!

Boy. Oh boy.

[Five days after the incident. Bump’s still there. More obvious ‘greenish marks’ near both eyes]
…

Btw, I get asked quite a bit by people about the incident, and what we did after that, and so I thought of sharing it with you here today.

Q: What did you guys do immediately after the incident?

A: We checked the forehead and saw no cuts. But when the goose egg appeared seconds later, I did cringe and say, ‘OH MY! The bump is so big, Wilson!’. But then Wilson reminded me to not show any panicky expressions or actions, so that Vai could feel less shocked and more calm, now that he’s in our arms (He was crying loudly when we stopped by the side of the tunnel – we were walking towards the train station)

We then immediately gave the bump area a good rub (using the lower part of our palm, near our wrist). We always do this on our bumps to better spread any burst of blood vessels under the skin (and it works, btw. In all of our cases, anyway).

And as we didn’t have any ‘hirudoid’ or ‘trombopop’ gels with us at the time (ie. they work well on bumps/bruises), I applied some medicated oil on the bump.

Q: Did you scold or tell him off for being careless or something? (immediately after, or after the incident)

A: No, we didn’t. To both Wilson and I, it was totally an accident. Vai himself didn’t want it to happen. He was just being his playful self and it was totally unforeseen (ie. It wasn’t like he was being playful / running around near the roadside or something – which I will totally forbid, btw!)

So what we did after attending to the bump, we gave him a big hug and told him that we’ve put something on it. Daddy then carried and comforted him as we walked towards the train.

We let him cry. And he cried for a good 3-5 mins. And after that, he just leaned on Daddy’s shoulder quietly.

Some 15 mins after the incident, he’s all smiles and playful again as usual. We all also reacted and interacted normally.

He laughed when he saw his forehead, and told us how it’s a ‘balaku’, hehe. (note: ‘Balaku’ is apparently a word commonly used by kids in Singapore when they refer to a bump)

Q: Did you bring him to the hospital or the doctor?

A: No, because we could see that he’s totally okay after the incident, ie. no symptoms of serious head injury.

…

Anyway.

We thank God everything was okay.

And really, after I had kids (especially after I had Vai!), I get to witness instances where God is evidently at work, providing and protecting our little ones.

Daily.

And, it’s amazing.

…

Here are some useful links on head injuries that may be handy to you:

– A checklist on Falls for parents (ie. What to do and check, etc) by kidshealth.org

– Head Injuries, by kidshealth.org

– When to call the doctor after your child hits her head, by DrGreene.com