Wednesday, June 4, 2008

It's a matter of endurance



Powered by FeedBurner


Bath time is usually the best time of the day to bond with Nathan... I get his undivided attention. Today marks the day when he turns 37 months and lately I sense the terrible 3 setting in on him. True enough, this is the day that he wanted to exert his right.

After a full day of playing, Nathan was beginning to smell stale, and I decided to give him a good scrub. But just as I was about to plonk him into the bath tub, he made it known to me in no uncertain terms that he does not want to bathe!

I tried to reason with this 3-year old on why he should have a good shower, and what activities he would engage in right after the shower. It didn't work. Instead, Nathan decided to put both hands firmly on the tap so as to prevent me from turning it on.

Mommy, being mom, was somewhat smarter than him. It has to be right? Lo and behold, I got hold of a little basin and filled it with water; and before he knew it, I emptied the contents of the basin on him.

Sure enough he was screaming away... but hey, Mom is only making a point! Smelly little boys must take a bath; and it's a matter of whether this young man is able to take instructions from his mother, or to exert his own. When the time is right, I will surely pass the decision reigns to him; but for now, it's OBEDIENCE that matters more.

"Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right"

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Home made Remedy for Bruisers


Powered by FeedBurner




A life of a child is marked with bruises and scars.


Having loads of energy that is waiting to be displaced, the kids are always on the lookout for activities that can push them a notch further... One such activity is to try to be acrobatic, even though they have not been trained to be one!


Whenever we drop by grandma's place, the girls will always want to go to the playground where they can experiment and 'perfect' their acrobatic stunts. One such stunt is to attempt to be a bat. In the process of swinging their legs up and down the bar, the shin is one of the most delicate part of the body to ill-treated... and so, one day, someone came back with a bruised ... a badly bruised shin! ouch!



Being the mommy I was stunned to see such a bruise, the size of a 50-cents coin! How should I treat this purplish bump?? One very good remedy i picked from friends was to play chemist at home by combining some body lotion with essential oil. This concoction not only gives out a good scent, it also promotes mother-daughter bonding time as we recount the 'arrival' of the bruise.

Formula for the concoction:
1. any handcream or body lotion
2. add in 3-5 drops of lemongrass essential oil
3. apply gently onto the bruise with lots of TLC


Try it... it is a great time to catch up ... and wince with them... and bond with them...

Sunday, June 1, 2008

A walk through heaven


Powered by FeedBurner



As this is one of the rare Saturdays where the kids have no classes, we decided to do something adventurous. We decided to take the kids out for a morning hike -- along Henderson Waves - one of the newly launched Southern Ridges

We started our day with a late breakfast at ABC market - hawker centre. Thereafter we proceeded with great anticipation towards Telok Blangah Hill, and were all ready to conquer the hill and get close to nature.

As we were approaching the carpark, we noticed that the bulk of the car park lots were occupied... the girls were quick to point out to daddy the next empty lot, in hope that the lot will not be 'taken' by a competitor in a nearby car.

Before long, this family of 6 was out of the car, and making our way up this steep slope... geez, shouldn't have eaten one too many fishballs... I could feel the weight of breakfast on my legs! After a steep slope, and round a bend, our eyes feast on a beautiful sight before us... the start of the Henderson Waves. The number of planks of wood, so neatly arranged in rows; marked by waves of steel. We marvell at how long it took the designers and workers to put this piece of art together.

We crossed Henderson Road, at some 60 metres above sea level, and drank in the beautiful tree tops as we walked across the road, without pausing for traffic, that was humming away many metres below us.

Soon after, it was the beginning of Marang Trail. Along the way, we stopped to watch a few boo-boos communicate to one another. This is as close to nature as we could get for the boo-boos were less than 20 metres from us. Dad promised to take the binos along the next time we do this hike again, so that the kids could catch the view of the birds.

We reached the Jewel Box, where tourists board the cable car to head towards Sentosa. This was when we were somewhat disappointed... the place was undergoing renovation, as such we did not manage to stop for ice-cream. Still we did some scouting around the Jewel Box, before retracing our footsteps back to the car.

By this time, it was way past 1pm, and humidity level was up a few notches. We still enjoyed our way back, but was glad to be back in aircon comfort in the car. This is not the end of our Henderson Wave experience. We will be back, and will conquer a different stretch of the Southern Ridges. After all, we cannot quite claim to be Singaporeans if we do not even know our Southern Ridges, can we?


Technorati tags: