Somewhere over the rainbow…

Original or Pirated?

Frankly, SIL and I would be the only people in our family who buys original CDs or DVDs. I buy less than 3 CDs a year, so can still “afford” it. Besides, with so many good radio channels around, who really need a CD when driving? SIL likes to collect those mussy Korean and Taiwan soap operas, and the original versions have nice pictures of her idols.

Hubby only buys pirated DVDs. He said he’ll only watch them once, why waste money? As for songs, he lagi teruk, will look for MP3 which stores hundreds of songs!!! Sigh, no wonder some artists are complaining that they’re earning less even if they’re all dressed up in Gucci or Versace.

Everyone knows it’s a crime, but can we really resist the pirated CDs which are cheap, almost as good as original, and save up lots of money? Lots of people go to pasar malam not for the food or clothes, but wander around those CD stalls, don’t they? If the originals can be cheaper, which is not possible lah, maybe pirated CDs won’t have such a big attraction.

As for ladies, some really like to flash around with their fake LV handbags. Once, I saw a si lai holding a LY handbag and I almost burst out in laughter. I’m not sure if she knows that LV is branded, or she doesn’t mind taking a fake one anyway. It’s just look funny to me. Why not just buy any normal non-branded handbags which look good and cheaper if can’t afford it?

When I was having a vacation in Korea, we went to this shopping complex where they sell lots of fake and A class handbags. The sales person claimed that the goods are as good as the originals, but so much cheaper. I didn’t get any, really. Why should I buy one if I can’t afford it? No point right? By the way, no need to go so far also can find fake stuffs from ci cheong kai or Haayai lah.

Talk about Everything

Seriously, do married couples really talk about everything they have in mind to their spouses? As long as I remember, hubby and I used to talk about everything when we’re dating for 4 years. After we got married, we only talk about certain topics that either of us thinks it’s important to let the other one knows about it, like regarding Justin, baby, families, and some other stuffs. Both of us talk less about our work to each other, except those major “happennings”.

When we’re out with my business partners and talk about some issues, hubby will have that clueless look on his face, as if he’s wondering what we’re talking about while my friends’ husbands have no problems joining in the conversation. I wonder if I should start talking about my work to hubby again. It’s just like sometimes my work is so plateau, and I’m too occupied with Justin at home, and when he’s back, I’d rather talk about other things than my work.

Same goes to hubby, I’m always the last to know about his work too. Like the time when he’s old landlord in KL planned to sell off the premise, he didn’t say a word to me. When my SIL and PIL asked me about it, I had no idea what they’re talking about, until I questioned hubby. He said it’s no big deal, and he knew how to handle it.

Both of us are happy with our relationship, but I wonder if we’re not handling it good enough. According to Willard F. Harley, Jr. Ph.D.’s book (His Needs Her Needs), hubby and I are not talking enough. Reading that book makes me feel like there’s something wrong in our relationship. Mmm… should start talking more, but not to the extend of “nagging” on hubby. That should be scary.

Kisses

Justin gave me a kiss on my cheek this morning, with a load “chup”!!! He has finally known how to curl up his lips, paste them on cheeks, and make the “chup” sound. Last time, his kisses were mainly touching his lips on us, sometimes with the mouth wide open and left lots of saliva on our face.

So happy that he knows how to do it already. That kiss really brightened up my Monday!

More Housemates

Besides my usual family members, we have more housemates lately. They really outnumber us, and make their presence felt.

1. Termites
MIL found out that the wooden cabinet in the toilet downstairs has some holes in it before Chinese New Year. After some inspection, she found termites! To her horror, the termites also present in the bathroom of her room. So she called up Rentokil last week, and the person-in-charged came and had a look. Seems like the termite colony has invaded our house, both upstairs and downstairs. No wonder the window panel of my studyroom looks funny, like it’s rottening. It has been eaten up by termites!

So Rentokil suggested that we drill holes in every 2 ft of our flooring downstairs to pump in the pesticide, which claimed can kill the queen and the rest of the colony. What the cost? RM8000 – RM9000!!!! We got a shock at the huge figure, and that doesn’t include the pasting up the flooring after drilling! Sh*t!

But MIL doesn’t want to do that yet because she said “renovation” is not advisable since I’m pregnant. So, for the time being, we asked them to put the pesticide on those spots that termites can be found, and it’s much cheaper, only RM630. What a big difference! Anyway, this method is not effective though as only part of the termites will be killed while the queen keeps on producing.

So, after baby comes out, we need to proceed to plan A. Lets cross fingers that the termites haven’t got to the roof, if not, I think the ceiling will collapse!

2. Mosquito
There’s this rich old man who owned the piece of land behind my house for so many years, but didn’t do anything on it. MIL said he had passed away, and not sure which of his children own it now. You see, the grass is growing extremely fast there, almost reaching 6 ft tall. They only asked someone to cut it once in a while, and it has been a breeding area of mosquitoes! During last dengue season, there’re at least 3 persons were infected by dengue, one guy beside my house, and another 2 behind my house (separated by the land).

It’s really annoying seeing those flying bugs around the house, and worst still, they mainly attack Justin who doesn’t know how to hit them! I’m sick of putting mosquito propellant on him day and night. Sigh! When will the mosquitoes extinct! I know this sound cruel but really can’t tahan them already.

Choosing Kindergarten or School

SIL went to register Li Wei at one of the popular kindergartens in Ipoh yesterday. What made her choose this kindergarten? It’s because they give lots of HOMEWORK every day. I was rather shocked at the way she made the decision as I thought there’re other factors to be considered when we choose a kindergarten or school.

To me, here’s how I’ll evaluate a kindergarten:
1. Caring teachers who pay attention to ALL children.
2. Safe and clean environment, which means the tables and chairs, teaching aids, staircase, toilets, and etc are suitable and safe for children.
3. Easy to leave and pick up children, where the kindergarten has a good “Come and Go” system for vehicles.
4. Easy to access or talk to the teachers about our children, if necessary.
5. Besides academic or homework, there should be some activities which emphasize on a child’s well-being, like teaching them how to dress up, pretend play, sports or outdoor activities, songs and dances, and MORAL too.
6. Not too many children in a class. I think 10 children to 1 teacher ratio is good enough. If the number of children exceed 10, then there should be an assistant in the class to help out.
7. Please don’t force children under 3 years old to write, they’re not ready.
8. Homework is given occasionally and reasonably, not to scare children or kill their interest in learning by piling them with lots of writing. spelling test or exams.
9. No labelling of children and arranging their class by academic performance (this is very common)
10. No enforcement of children should stay back at school for tuition class, as most kindergarten teachers would “force” the parents to leave their children for tuition class, if not the kids won’t be able to catch up.

I’m wondering if my thinking is out-dated? Most parents I talked to have the same thinking as my SIL. Even my other SIL from Singapore also mentioned that kindergartens here have tougher syllabus than her sons’ kindy. She was shocked when she returned last year and saw what Xin Yi’s been studying at the age of 5. Not to mention the tough test paper, and Xin Yi managed to score the highest mark in her class!!! Of coz, Xin Yi’s dad coaches her every day and makes sure that she knows everything the teachers thought.

Even if Justin’s still young, I’ve started talking to hubby about what kind of school he prefers for Justin. Like his family members, he also thinks like them. We still don’t see eye to eye on this, hopefully after a few years down the road, we’ll come out a solution in finding kindergarten or school.

3D / 4D Scan

My gynae has finally made up his mind of buying a new 3D / 4D untrascan machine. So I don’t have to go to Penang or KL to do a thorough scanning. Actually, at 7 and a half months, it’s a bit to late to scan the baby thoroughly, even if there’s anything wrong with the baby, we’ll still have to accept him/her.

My main purpose of doing the 3D scan is to see the actual location of my placenta. Thank god my placenta has moved up a bit, and not blocking the birth canal. So, natural birth is possible at the moment. Besides that, I don’t have to worried so much about walking or standing for too long, which is not advisable for placenta previa. That really put a peace of mind in me. I’ve not been exercising thru out this pregnancy, so I better start walking to get my body prepared.

Too bad baby was not cooperating, and facing sideway during the scan. Can’t see her face at all. Well, all her major organs are developing well, and that’s really assuring to me, like most mothers-to-be. Carrying a baby in us really make us paranoic sometimes, wondering if the baby is doing well.

BTW, I’ve beginning to show Justin my tummy and telling him that he’s expecting a new baby at home. Not sure if he understands what I’m saying, but most of the time, he’ll pull down my shirt, covering up the tummy. When he sees some books and magazines showing pregnant ladies, he’ll point and babble. I’m not sure what’s he’s talking about, but I think he knows that I look like them now.

Sick again leh…

I’ve been busy these few days. Justin was not feeling well, he had fever on Thursday night. And since then, hardly sleep well at night. I had to keep an eye on him and measure his temperature once in a while. So, hubby and I hardly got any sleep.

It’s been almost half a year since his last fever, and I consider Justin to be rather healthy already. At least not like my friend’s daughter who’s having fever every month, and got to try normal medicine and chinese medication to boast her health. It’s so tiring taking care of a sick baby, and not to mention handling his grumpiness and tantrums. He’s not feeling well, of coz his temper also not as good as before.

I had to carry him everywhere as he’s very clingy. He doesn’t want me to touch the pc, so mommy can’t blog!!! *Sigh* Luckily today he’s feeling much better, and doesn’t mind mommy sneaking in the study room for a while. Hopefully, his appetite will get better tomorrow. Really “sum thong” looking at his skinny body now.

Justin’s Recent Photos

Unconditional Love Exist?

This has nothing to do with love birds, but how parents express their love to their kids. I have only Justin and expecting the 2nd one, so I’m not sure if I’ll love them the same, or I’ll act like some of the parents I know.

There’s this 8-year-old boy, let’s name him WK, who comes to my centre every weekday for my teachers to coach him on his homework. He comes with the elder brother who’s smarter and more hardworking. WK is quite slow, and he has left out a lot in his studies, so he’s having a tough time catching up. They have very different characteristics, the elder one is a chatter box, while WK is very quiet. I think he’s lack of confidence.

Since his parents are Taiwanese, they don’t understand much English and Malay, and also too occupied with their business and don’t have time to coach him. That’s why they ask my teachers to make sure that their sons finish their homework at my centre.

Like any Chinese school kid, WK has at least 5 books of homework per day. But lately, my teachers have suspected that something is wrong as his homework are getting lesser, and he stops marking which pages he should be doing. So, we talked to his dad. His dad went to the school and found out that WK has been hiding his homework away, thus he doesn’t need to do them. And he was bullied at school where his friends took his new exercise books, sports T-shirt, and stationery that the father bought for him at the beginning of the year. That’s why he always lost his stuffs.

His dad was so mad and hit him badly. He’s in tears when he came to my centre that day, and hasn’t taken his lunch. His brother was not helping much and started telling us about why his brother being beated up and that embarrassed WK even more. I can see that his father prefers the smarter son over WK, but he also loves WK and that’s why he’s so mad when he found out the truth. But I think by beating him up doesn’t help and WK might feel that his dad loves them differently. According to the brother, his dad always hit WK because he’s stupid (that’s the word I don’t like to use on children), and always does badly in exams. What will you feel if your brother is doing so well while you’re being hit because you’re less achieving in academic?

I really pity WK because it’s really hard growing up in his brother’s shadow. He doesn’t have the confident to even stand for himself when his stuffs were taken. BTW, I also wonder if the stuffs were returned to him once the school teachers found out that the other children took them. I know school teachers are very busy, but really hope WK is not being left out since he’s a slow learner.

I have no idea how my children will be, but I really hope I won’t be comparing them. Once there’s a comparison, we’ll treat them unfairly.

Happy Valentine’s Day

To all married couples, aunty and uncles, young love birds, those who secretly admiring someone special, and my hubby, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

Too bad, I’m not celebrating it since last year. Last year, I was busy taking care of Justin who’s only 2 months old, and this year, with a big tummy load, I really malas going out for dinners which take forever to be served, extremely crowded everywhere, and not to mention seeing young girls holding flowers walking hand in hand with their boyfriends. Hai ya, I sounded like old aunty already, not romantic at all. Anyway, hubby also “cha tao” type, and doesn’t know how to be romantic.

I’m wondering if I should go and buy a card for hubby this year, haven’t given him anything for 2 consecutive years (he also didn’t give lah). Or maybe just e-card, not fussy at all.

How do married couples celebrate Valentine’s Day? Still going out like good old dating days? All 4 married couples in my house must be the boring type as we’re having dinner at home as usual, with our kids’ laughter, cries, and voices to burst the house down.