The Challenging Period...

**Long Post**

Earlier this evening, while we were having dinner, the hubs asked me what have we done that Tim has became infamous in school... if you have been following me in FB, you'd have known that we have met with some great challenges in managing Tim.

Just recently, we've been receiving feedback about Tim's undesirable behaviour in school (he's been throwing huge tantrums when he didn't get what he wanted, he's been unwilling to share and take turns, he's been fighting with his friends a lot, he's been running all about in school during lesson times, he's been uncoorperative, he's forgotten his Ps & Qs...) I guess, the teachers must have had a great deal of difficulty trying to manage Tim that the teacher-in-charge had to break the news to us... Tim has created a name for himself that ALL the teachers of the school knew that he's a challenging child!!!

We didn't doubt the teacher's feedback because we've experienced the same at home with Tim. It's been rather challenging dealing with Tim of late and honestly, we were at our wits' end. We do not believe in using the rod, also do not believe in giving in to the child's cries/wails... but our use of the naughty corner/thinking corner has proven futile (read: lost its effect).

I used to think that Little Missy was the difficult and strong willed child, but I have changed my mind... my once calm and easy baby (Tim) has now become the challenging child instead!

I am not sure if it's because of the many changes that's going on in our lives since the beginning of this year or was it a serious flaw in our parenting style that caused Tim to behave this way... or was it his way of telling us that his needs are not being met somewhere...

I really don't know and only could submit this problem to our Lord God and sought His help... been praying for Tim a little more earnestly recently... and we have also taken steps to amend our parenting methods with him... the hubs said that we've been too easy going with Tim for the past 3 years, allowing him to choose what he likes to do (though not all the time), now that he's 4, it's time to take a firmer stance and set boundaries/expectations on him to be more disciplined. We feel that it'll do him a disservice if we just allow this bad behaviour to continue...I've also been trying to control my temper when dealing with Tim and talk nice to him, giving him more one-to-one attention...; take a conscious effort in spotting more of his good behaviour and praise him for it.

We've seen a marked difference in Tim's behaviour recently (the past week or so)... while we haven't compared notes with the teachers in school, we've observed that Tim has thrown lesser tantrums, cried less, obeyed our instructions more, and has even shared his favourite Oreo biscuits with his sister this evening...

This journey in parenthood is long and arduous... we are not perfect parents so the hubs and I decided that we need to take a more active role in praying for our kids more consistently... and I feel that we need to also read up more about parenting, constantly equipping ourselves in this area because every stage of the children's lives there are different challenges we'll have to deal with...

The process of being a parent is definitely no mean feat, but it is fulfilling...

Who's in the Mag?

We've been privileged to be invited by a dear friend whose hubby is a freelance writer of the Mother & Baby magazine.

And my hubby was featured as a "Fab Dad" of the month of April! :)
Our family photo and a short write-up has been featured in the latest copy of Mother & Baby magazine... do read it if you have a copy :)

Something to Keep Her Occupied

The kids have been taking turns to fall ill, and this week was Little Missy's turn... she's been having a bout of fever and bad cough... so I've decided to keep her home bound for a couple of days...

With so many hours to fill and yet we can't get outdoors for some running, I cracked my brain to come up with this idea... :)

Got a pack of Huat Kueh (steam cake) premix and a can of coconut milk... voila easy peasy! Got Little Missy to stir and asked her which colours would she prefer her steam cakes to be in...

When the cakes were done, we sat down and enjoyed them together... great way to keep her occupied and keep me sane... *smile*

Simply Homecooked - One Pot Meals!

Ever since our domestic helper left, I have had a difficult time adjusting to preparing every single dinner on my own... the chopping, cooking and washing - it's such a long process... to cook just one meal a day, it already took me almost 3 hours in total (from, preparing to cooking to washing)... I can't imagine having to cook every single meal daily... think I'll probably have to camp in the kitchen.

Fortunately, for some great mommies who advised on preparing one pot meals to solve all the headaches... along the way of working out the meal plans for dinner, I've discovered that fried rice is the easiest to prepare. I'm so grateful that I've found some really fabulous cook books with tons of fried rice recipes... it's easy to follow and definitely yummy!
I tried this stir-fry beef & capsicum rice. It was superbly yummy and oooooooh so easy to prepare... I modified it a little to suit my family's taste... so here is the recipe to share -

Ingredients -

300gms sliced beef (I got this sliced beef for stir-fry from the supermart)

1 large white onion sliced

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

2 small capsicums, sliced (in differing colours to add interest visually)

1 pot of rice (I used the mixed grain rice ie. white, red, brown; you may just use white if you prefer)

1 tbsp fish sauce (add more if you prefer)

1 egg white

1 tbsp corn flour

Black pepper (to taste)

Method of preparation -

1) Marinate beef in egg white and corn flour for over an hour

2) Add oil into frying pan, and stir-fry sliced onions till fragrant

3) Stir-fry the capsicum till tender, set it aside

4) Add beef and stir-fry till it's brown on the outside (don't overcook the beef)

5) Pour the capsicum back into the frying pan and stir for just a few seconds

6) Add in the rice and fry. Pour the fish sauce and stir-fry for a minute of two

7) Cease fire and serve by adding black pepper on top

Little Missy Loves to Sing

One BIG thing that I like most about sending my kids to this childcare centre is - they come back speaking more mandarin and singing more chinese songs... Little Missy, even had multiple conversations with me in mandarin... *beaming*

All my fears of them becoming an "cheena ang-moh" is now no more a big issue to me. The daily exposure and opportunity to converse with teachers and other kids in mandarin has added to the lightning speed of them picking up the language without resistance. Though Tim still has a little more work to do in improving his pronunciation, he's otherwise enjoying the language now... *happy*

On so many occasions, I had wanted to video Little Missy singing and reciting those mandarin nursery rhymes alas all were too spontaneous and I didn't have the time to whip out my camera and the moment was gone...

I have however, video-ed this clip of her singing two kids' worship songs... please pardon the incorrect lyrics sung... *smile*...

I'm now a WAHM and we have a helper...

It's been almost 3 months since our domestic helper, Kusmi, left us...and it's definitely not an easy task having to juggle amongst the multitude of needs by the kids and the household in general - grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning of the house, prepping of meals, washing of dishes, fussing round the kids etc... and I began to feel that housework is NOT exactly my cup of tea and definitely NOT my idea of fun at all... I was struggling to keep afloat, seriously! I realized that I've made a HUGE mistake by suggesting to do away without a live-in helper and try to be gung-ho.

However, I'm glad that my Lord God, heard my cries and came to my aid. It happened one day when someone from my contact list in Facebook posted a recruitment ad for an admin co-ordinator position that things began to take a change :) I was excited that this came along... as I now have the means to hire a part-time helper (at least)... *happy*

Still trying to grapple with the new routine and added responsibilities amidst my already very full daily schedule... regardless of which, I'm thankful that I have a little extras to get me out of the painful household chores...

Freebie of the Week - A-B-C games for the Tots

Since I am in the phase of going through the alphabet with Little Missy, I've found two very interesting letter matching activities that might be of interest to your little ones...

This will be a great bond and learn activity to do with your little tots... suitable for kids age 2+

(You may download and print them at no cost :) you may print them on hard card stock or you could have the matching cards laminated for durability)

Alphabet Game 1

Alphabet Game 2

Freebie of the Week - Free Fonts

Fancy some really fun and cute fonts to add into your collection to spruce up your letters or greeting cards or even scrapbook?

I found this wonderful free font website that I simply MUST share with everyone. I've downloaded ALL of the fonts available... (hee... freeloader).

I simply cannot resist adding these fonts to my already super big collection of fonts. Am a crafter by heart so when lovely things such as these are made available, it just excites me!

These fonts are really very useful though it does confuse me sometimes because I am spoilt for choice...

So here are some of the fonts that I've downloaded from the site check them out!