According to Elder Ernest Chew, the word "Nike" originates from the Greek word that means "Victory!". Incidentally, it's also the name of a Greek Goddess who stands for Triumph. Suddenly, images of women's underwear and athletic apparel incongruously flood my mind.
Anyway, victory!
Finally managed to figure out how to expand the width of the blog, so that I can select "medium" for my Flikr pictures to be shown in their entirety.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Dylan's first junk food
I know.
We've been really naughty, but the truth is which parent won't indulge their little one in a just a smidgeon of junk food here and there?
For e.g., a taste of delicious red bean potong ice-cream:
Still, soba buckwheat noodles from Sakae don't count as junk food, I hope?
We've been really naughty, but the truth is which parent won't indulge their little one in a just a smidgeon of junk food here and there?
For e.g., a taste of delicious red bean potong ice-cream:
Still, soba buckwheat noodles from Sakae don't count as junk food, I hope?
Friday, July 06, 2007
An Ode to LSCs
I wrote a poem today. We're busy preparing for MOE ExCEL Fest next Friday, and the Learning Support Coordinators and their EL teacher counterparts were hard at work perfecting the presentation.
Mary Poppins Couldn't Have Done It Better
A Learning Support Coordinator is like Mary Poppins
With her inimitable black bag.
She greets the class with a great big grin,
And out of her bag pops
All the tricks and tools a child needs
to read
The sentence maker, with its bits and bobs
Great big charts, the Elkonin box
And out comes the cue cards
The "-k" and the "-cks"
Vowel sounds,
The syllables they count,
Both long and short.
Magnetic tokens, please,
Before you see print
To help the weakest in our cohort!
"Blend to read!"
"Segment to spell!"
So says Ms LSC with an excited yell.
She waves her fingers in the air
And says, "Children,
Spelling is NOT a nightmare!"
It's the way she sprinkles her words
With her winsome smile
Like sugar in the medicine
That's my Mary Poppins,
LSC-style.
Mary Poppins Couldn't Have Done It Better
A Learning Support Coordinator is like Mary Poppins
With her inimitable black bag.
She greets the class with a great big grin,
And out of her bag pops
All the tricks and tools a child needs
to read
The sentence maker, with its bits and bobs
Great big charts, the Elkonin box
And out comes the cue cards
The "-k" and the "-cks"
Vowel sounds,
The syllables they count,
Both long and short.
Magnetic tokens, please,
Before you see print
To help the weakest in our cohort!
"Blend to read!"
"Segment to spell!"
So says Ms LSC with an excited yell.
She waves her fingers in the air
And says, "Children,
Spelling is NOT a nightmare!"
It's the way she sprinkles her words
With her winsome smile
Like sugar in the medicine
That's my Mary Poppins,
LSC-style.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Bangkok Traffic
What happens when you seat a group of friends at Thai Express who all agree that its "Kao Niao Mah Muang" (Sticky Mango Rice) is inconsistent?
A last-minute snap-decision to fly to Bangkok for the real deal, the very next weekend!
That's what happened last Sunday after church when a group of us had lunch at the Siglap Thai Express. Before you know it, we were up, up and away to the land of smiles!
Flew in on Friday night to check into a dodgy-looking three-star hotel with HDB white lighting, and back on Sunday evening.
This was my very first trip into Bangkok, so I didn't really know what to expect. Much of central Bangkok where we stayed is dominated by 2-tiered roads, the bottom tier for the tuk-tuks and cabbies headed towards the eating and shopping districts, and the higher tier for fast-moving vehicles headed out of the city.
Very grey, very concrete. Badly-maintained pavements which were a nightmare terrain for Dylan's stroller to manoevre over. Reminded me a bit of the less glossy parts of KL.
But what an adventure it was! After midnight Singapore time, we found ourselves braving the traffic in tuk-tuks, bundling little Dylan in arm, and headed for seafood at Song Nam (did I get this name correctly?)
The following two days saw 6 of us squeezing to the back of cabs (dear hubby's the biggest sized, so he gets to go the front passenger seat!). Quite an experience, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are stuck in an hour-long jam - my entire left leg went completely asleep at one point, and so did Aihua's, I think!
This trip is also significant because it is the first time we're taking Dylan on a flight. I've been advised to nurse him during take-off and landing so that the pressure-change won't cause him ear pains, and it seemed to work like magic.
SIA also served delicious baby bottled-food. Dylan had "Pumpkin, parsnip and roast beef". Yum, doesn't it sound gourmet?
He really didn't enjoy being confined to the baby bassinet, though. So E. and I couldn't enjoy our airline food at the same time cos one of us had to attend to him always.
Mommies out there who have travelled with their babies, let me know what you can do to coax the little ones to sleep in their bassinets!
Some photos to share, will post more photos when we get to download them from our phones. These are courtesy of Aihua and James, the lovely newly-weds (we joke that this is their first unofficial honeymoon!):
At Don Wai's floating market, we had duck & pork noodles, and thai otah for breakfast -
Sunday afternoon, just in front of the MBK mall, along our final walk back to the hotel from all the shopping, before flying home (and Dylan looking a little grumpy after having his cheeks pinched by the 50 millionth Thai shopkeeper):
A last-minute snap-decision to fly to Bangkok for the real deal, the very next weekend!
That's what happened last Sunday after church when a group of us had lunch at the Siglap Thai Express. Before you know it, we were up, up and away to the land of smiles!
Flew in on Friday night to check into a dodgy-looking three-star hotel with HDB white lighting, and back on Sunday evening.
This was my very first trip into Bangkok, so I didn't really know what to expect. Much of central Bangkok where we stayed is dominated by 2-tiered roads, the bottom tier for the tuk-tuks and cabbies headed towards the eating and shopping districts, and the higher tier for fast-moving vehicles headed out of the city.
Very grey, very concrete. Badly-maintained pavements which were a nightmare terrain for Dylan's stroller to manoevre over. Reminded me a bit of the less glossy parts of KL.
But what an adventure it was! After midnight Singapore time, we found ourselves braving the traffic in tuk-tuks, bundling little Dylan in arm, and headed for seafood at Song Nam (did I get this name correctly?)
The following two days saw 6 of us squeezing to the back of cabs (dear hubby's the biggest sized, so he gets to go the front passenger seat!). Quite an experience, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are stuck in an hour-long jam - my entire left leg went completely asleep at one point, and so did Aihua's, I think!
This trip is also significant because it is the first time we're taking Dylan on a flight. I've been advised to nurse him during take-off and landing so that the pressure-change won't cause him ear pains, and it seemed to work like magic.
SIA also served delicious baby bottled-food. Dylan had "Pumpkin, parsnip and roast beef". Yum, doesn't it sound gourmet?
He really didn't enjoy being confined to the baby bassinet, though. So E. and I couldn't enjoy our airline food at the same time cos one of us had to attend to him always.
Mommies out there who have travelled with their babies, let me know what you can do to coax the little ones to sleep in their bassinets!
Some photos to share, will post more photos when we get to download them from our phones. These are courtesy of Aihua and James, the lovely newly-weds (we joke that this is their first unofficial honeymoon!):
At Don Wai's floating market, we had duck & pork noodles, and thai otah for breakfast -
Sunday afternoon, just in front of the MBK mall, along our final walk back to the hotel from all the shopping, before flying home (and Dylan looking a little grumpy after having his cheeks pinched by the 50 millionth Thai shopkeeper):
Sunday, June 24, 2007
The Mother's Pain
Last night, I disciplined Dylan for the first time.
He bit me while nursing. First two times I just reacted by pulling him away and telling him a stern "No". Third time, I reacted by smacking his back once, lifting his face to mine and saying, "Dylan, I said no, don't do that!"
He blinked, eyes searching mine for meaning. For a few seconds, his mouth curled downwards and started trembling, and the tears soon followed.
I was surprised, not so much by the fact that he actually got the point finally, but by how my tears also started streaming down!
He bit me while nursing. First two times I just reacted by pulling him away and telling him a stern "No". Third time, I reacted by smacking his back once, lifting his face to mine and saying, "Dylan, I said no, don't do that!"
He blinked, eyes searching mine for meaning. For a few seconds, his mouth curled downwards and started trembling, and the tears soon followed.
I was surprised, not so much by the fact that he actually got the point finally, but by how my tears also started streaming down!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Starting Solids
We started Dylan on solids around the time he turned 5 months, at first with very diluted rice cereal once a day, and slowly adding less milk till he takes it as a smooth paste.
Last Friday, at his 6th month check and third immunisation jab, the ped said that we can start feeding him solids more regularly as he can afford to put on more weight.
So I steamed potatoes and mashed it through a sieve, enough to last for a week. Poor baby - within days he became badly constipated, and grandma had to "help" dislodge the hard pellets of baby poo out.
Yesterday was particularly concerning, cos I could tell that he was trying to push something out but nothing came out. The grandparents called Elroy (he was in the middle of his 18-hole game with my Dad), and asked if we should send him in to see the doc.
They tend to worry a lot - Dyl's granma and granpa, but I guess with nothing much else to do other than take care of their grandson I can't blame them for being overly concerned.
Here's a pic of them three after Mother's Day dinner:
So E and I prayed hard on our walk back from dinner with Jacinda and Kevin.
And lo and behold, the minute we got home, I spied an odd scent coming from our baby, and true enough, a diaper full of poo!
I read Lai Yong's chapter on Psalm 62, about what are some things we find most difficult to wait for.
He talks about what one soft-spoken farmer from Lisu shared. He said that it was most difficult to wait when all the grains in the store have been eaten, and the grains in the fields are still in their stalks, but are not ready to be harvested. So while waiting, they stay hungry, and wonder at how much longer before their tummies can be filled.
It made me think.
We often want to rush growing up, don't we. Not just for our babies but even for ourselves.
Little Dylan's digestive system is still slowing maturing, but of course his mouth and taste buds don't know that yet, happy is he chomping away at mommy's special mashed potatos. So he too, needs to wait, and allow a bit of waiting time before trying a range of other solid foods.
Similarly, only before God's presence can my soul be still, and be silent before my maker.
"My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
- Psalm 62:1-2
This week, I pray that we can gently wait for God to mature the digestive tract inside our baby boy, and be rested in our harried souls.
Last Friday, at his 6th month check and third immunisation jab, the ped said that we can start feeding him solids more regularly as he can afford to put on more weight.
So I steamed potatoes and mashed it through a sieve, enough to last for a week. Poor baby - within days he became badly constipated, and grandma had to "help" dislodge the hard pellets of baby poo out.
Yesterday was particularly concerning, cos I could tell that he was trying to push something out but nothing came out. The grandparents called Elroy (he was in the middle of his 18-hole game with my Dad), and asked if we should send him in to see the doc.
They tend to worry a lot - Dyl's granma and granpa, but I guess with nothing much else to do other than take care of their grandson I can't blame them for being overly concerned.
Here's a pic of them three after Mother's Day dinner:
So E and I prayed hard on our walk back from dinner with Jacinda and Kevin.
And lo and behold, the minute we got home, I spied an odd scent coming from our baby, and true enough, a diaper full of poo!
I read Lai Yong's chapter on Psalm 62, about what are some things we find most difficult to wait for.
He talks about what one soft-spoken farmer from Lisu shared. He said that it was most difficult to wait when all the grains in the store have been eaten, and the grains in the fields are still in their stalks, but are not ready to be harvested. So while waiting, they stay hungry, and wonder at how much longer before their tummies can be filled.
It made me think.
We often want to rush growing up, don't we. Not just for our babies but even for ourselves.
Little Dylan's digestive system is still slowing maturing, but of course his mouth and taste buds don't know that yet, happy is he chomping away at mommy's special mashed potatos. So he too, needs to wait, and allow a bit of waiting time before trying a range of other solid foods.
Similarly, only before God's presence can my soul be still, and be silent before my maker.
"My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
- Psalm 62:1-2
This week, I pray that we can gently wait for God to mature the digestive tract inside our baby boy, and be rested in our harried souls.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Malacca - Mother's Day 12-13 May 2007
Two weeks into starting work again, we decided to make a cell group road trip up to Malacca.
It's Dylan's second foray into Malaysia, and although I was vaguely worried about whether he'll last the 3hour drive, it was really exciting to have everyone, including little Luke join us.
Photographs are courtesy of Sing Yeong and Arene. =)
The group of us before setting off to an exciting weekend away -
It was a hot hot afternoon and I feared for Dylan's tender skin!
Going up the little hill that used to overlook Merdeka Square (before they razed it to build an huge underground shopping mall. Talk about demolishing historical sites!)
At the top of the hill, where the remains of St Francis Xavier's church stands, and little Dylan basking in the tropical Malacca heat (believe me, mommy was sweating more!) -
Mother's Day celebration for CE, Luke, Dylan and I, and tiramisu cake which turned out to be just sponge cake, with neither rum, coffee, or sponge fingers -
Sunday morning at yum cha place next to the mosque. Yummelicious!
More food places - claypot bak kut teh (teochew style) at Taman Melaka Raya & Serempang, JB:
It's Dylan's second foray into Malaysia, and although I was vaguely worried about whether he'll last the 3hour drive, it was really exciting to have everyone, including little Luke join us.
Photographs are courtesy of Sing Yeong and Arene. =)
The group of us before setting off to an exciting weekend away -
It was a hot hot afternoon and I feared for Dylan's tender skin!
Going up the little hill that used to overlook Merdeka Square (before they razed it to build an huge underground shopping mall. Talk about demolishing historical sites!)
At the top of the hill, where the remains of St Francis Xavier's church stands, and little Dylan basking in the tropical Malacca heat (believe me, mommy was sweating more!) -
Mother's Day celebration for CE, Luke, Dylan and I, and tiramisu cake which turned out to be just sponge cake, with neither rum, coffee, or sponge fingers -
Sunday morning at yum cha place next to the mosque. Yummelicious!
More food places - claypot bak kut teh (teochew style) at Taman Melaka Raya & Serempang, JB:
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