Inspired Momx1

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

On School Days...

Brocolli with bean curd skin and minced chicken, fried eggs with long bean and bayam soup:
Our lunch for today

These are my boy's typical meals during school days, 2 dishes and a soup usually.  At his request, I packed him a chicken burger topped with a fried egg for his tea break at school today . 

When weekends and public holidays come, I tend to get lazy and we eat out most of the time, sometimes make do with homemade quick and simple dishes such as carbonara sphagetti and sandwiches.

What about you, especially those with school going children? 

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Friday, September 23, 2011

Should Your Kids Get Pocket Money?

I give my boy RM2 pocket money every school day ever since he started Primary 1 last year. I catered food for him from the school canteen last year so literally he did not have to spend a single cent in school. Some mothers told me it was unnecessary and advised me against entrusting him with managing his own allowance at this young age but I went ahead. I was curious to know how he would spend the money and in a way a lesson to him on ways to save money. Well, not a good start, I must say. The moment he got a taste of the power of money, he brought back more and more junk food and cute but low quality stationeries they tend to break/spoil after few uses.

We then came to an agreement that he must first seek consent before he could get anything from the school and strictly no junk food allowed. He still came back with some stationeries from school on and off but not for long, the thrill of money power soon lost its appeal when he realised he had lesser money left in the piggy bank every month end. To add salt to his wound, this bad mother even made him pay for things in his "want" list while daddy and I took care of the "need" list. We made a mistake for taking care of both lists previously! I knew we were heading somewhere when he started to think hard on ways to save money, I mean his own money before parting with it. He was starting to feel the pinch of spending his own money. We were heading in the right direction, we hope.

Having satisfied with his money management skill last year, he is entrusted with more money, a fixed monthly allowance of RM40 on top of a RM3 pocket money float starting this year. He has 3 lunch box days where I pack food for him from home and the remaining 2 days will be canteen days where he gets to spend maximum RM2 at the school canteen with no junk food rule still applies. I will top up the money provided there's at least a ringgit left in his wallet or no top-up at all and I am very strict on this. I told him that the RM1 must always be there as it is reserved for "the rainy days". The start of this exercise saw him spending his money on food to the max of his daily quota and then slowly back to RM1-RM2, never once has he emptied his wallet. Phew! *Pat myself on the shoulder*

I only realise I might have overdone it and it has somehow backfired when we have had this same converstation on a few occasions:

While in the toyshop/shopping mall/supermarket:

Ian: Mommy, can you buy this toy for me?
Mommy: Can, but you must pay me back.
Ian: Mommy, please.. buy for me.. I don't want to spend my own money.
Mommy: This is in your "want" list so you must pay yourself.
Ian: Please, mommy..Hmmm... I pay RM1 and you pay the balance, okay?
Mommy: No, it must be from your own money.
Ian: Please, mommy, please.. then I pay RM2 and you pay the rest, okay or not?
Mommy: *pulls hair & screams*

Lol... I didn't actually pull my hair out and screamed la. Blame it on me for drilling him too hard on ways to save money. I think I'd need some restrategizing to "soften the effect". :)

Do you give your kids pocket money? Care sharing?

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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Riding On Two Wheels

Ever since moving to a landed house, I am getting lazy to exercise compared to the days when we lived in a condo where I had to walk him down and stay there with him, be it going to the playground, playing table tennis, basketball, badminton or swimming. 

Not anymore.  I can now sit back, relax and have a cuppa nescafe.  He rekindles friendships with the 7 yo Malay boy who lives across the road and a 9yo Indian boy few doors away.  Yes, 1Malaysia spirit!  LOL...  The 9yo even helped the boy remove the two baby wheels on his bike and taught him how to ride on two wheels and Wheeeee.... He now cycles like a "pro" on two wheels..  :)

On another note, I always encourage my boy to speak to his friends in their own language, here our conversation goes...

Mommy: Boy, Axx is a Malay, right, do you know that you can speak to him in Malay?
Ian: But he only speaks English with me worr.
Mommy: It's okay but you can always ask him to speak to you in Malay marr.
Ian: Hmmmm... but he only speaks English worr.  Axxx (the Indian boy) also speaks English. So, can I ask him to speak to me in Tamil??
Mommy: .................

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Monday, September 19, 2011

Drunk??

Mommy, mommy, I am drunk.. he says, holding a bottle of beer in his hand..
He refused to sit up straight for a "decent" photo, instead gave me this drunkard pose.  *roll eyes*





Hoffenberg non-alcoholic beer (peach flavour) hubby bought from Carrefour during their buy 1 free 1 promo and it's halal, I suppose..  Taste wise, it'd be unfair for a non-beer person like me to comment.  I took a sip, yucks.. though hubby and the boy commented not bad, taste wise. :)


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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Bookaholic

The boy has outgrown Enid Blyton and is now into junior novels and Geronimo Stilton.. 

After polishing up his bowl of chilli pan me (minus the chilli) and a glass of ice lemon tea , he starts reading his newly acquired novel while enjoying his bowl of soup.

Getting annoyed by my camera

And even in the moving car, he continues reading... LOL...


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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Best Friends Forever..

Best Friends Forever

The boy's buddy from his old school.. The photos were taken on our last meeting during the last school holidays at Ikano Power Centre.  We (the mother and yours truly) and the kids meet up once a month to pick up magazines/books we subscribed earlier from the school.  Hopefully it would stay that way and that they remain best friends forever.


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Chua Brother Coffeeshop, Tengkat Tung Shin, KL


This coffeeshop is located along Tengkat Tung Shin.  It has been around for years, being passed down from the father to his sons.  Yeh yeh always yearns to come here when he craves for fish ball noodles though I find it's nothing to shout about as one can easily find better fish balls around klang valley.  Guess it's the nostalgia factor that keeps him coming back as he literally grew up on that street.

Tengkat Tong Shin houses rows of impressive heritage structures, once a place to call home by some families, have been around since the colonial times. The exterior still exudes a bit of history but to keep up with the times, the street has been modernized and turned into an entertainment area.

Walking down memory lane, holding hands,  yeh yeh and mah mah pointed at a spot in front of the coffeeshop where a cherry tree once stood and how beautiful it was when it blossomed.  They pointed out to Ian the house they lived in during their early years of marriage, now being converted to a reflexology centre and that hubby was born there.  When they craved for beef noodles, Ngau Kee was just across the road.  They just had to place order and it would be delivered to the doorstep. 


The taste was good though nothing to shout about.

We all love the loh mee, thick gooey gravy with generous amount of lettuce and "liu"

On a Sunday during lunch hours

I heard that the pork noodles was pretty good too and it's already in my must try list the next time we visit the coffeeshop.

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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Rafflesia Chicken Hut, The Mall, KL

Digging into the bowl of ABC, shared among us


We lazed around in the hotel room after a dip in the pool and shower.  I  continued on "The Firm" by John Grisham, one of the novels I grabbed by the lot from e-bay USA eons ago  but didn't get around reading while hubby and the boy glued to the TV.  We had some KFC packed to the room earlier when we went down to the shopping mall next door after check-in. 

It was near 9 pm when our stomach started growling so we went down in search for food and ended up at this shop which was almost closing.  Hubby quickly walked to the counter and ordered some food for all of us.

A ritual before "breaking fast"... posing for the camera

Hubby's fried chicken with rice, very big portion and meaty chicken thigh

The boy's - Salad prawn and chicken with rice

Mine - Lemon Chicken with rice.. big portion and tastes good

Cabbage soup that comes with the set



We strolled around the mall after our satisfying dinner but most of the shops were seen closing.  With nothing much to see, we headed back to our hotel room and continued on with our activities before calling it a day. 


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Friday, September 9, 2011

The Legend Hotel, KL


I had this free voucher from hubby which entitled us to a night's stay at The Legend Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.  It was our first time staying there though we had been to the hotel's pub, The Monkey Bar during our courting days.  Hubby loved taking me to pubs those days and I played along until one day I made a confession that clubbing really wasn't my cup of tea and due to the fact that I'd suffer from the aftermath of it.  My throat sore from shouting too much trying to make myself heard when talking and my freshly washed hair stunk of smoke after that.  Bleh.. I know, I know, I am weird..  Whose girls in their "bok bok cui" 20's wouldn't like clubbing, right?  Hubby always says I am a rare species and I take that as a compliment. :)

Ok, side tracked a bit,  back to the hotel,  The Legend Hotel KL, one of the oldest international chain hotels in Kuala Lumpur is strategically located just beside The Mall Shopping Mall. It has seen better days with dated furnishing and whatnot but overall it is clean and well maintained. 


Our Deluxe Room with King Size Bed

Toiletries

Long Bath. 

I'd have preferred a separate standing shower screen but this one would make my boy's day simply because it's the lying down type.  Read my previous post here. Hahaha.. 




Coffee making facilities

Hubby loves the writing desk, simple yet practical.

Couldn't wait to tune into his favourite channel the moment he stepped into the room. *roll eyes*


The view from our room on 19th floor

The hotel pool area with the skyscraper in the background

Heated Jacuzzi pool

Saw this at the gym room, loving it.. Fei Lou, hor?? ;)

The Twin Towers


This boy of ours is so confident in water that hubby had to stop him from swimming to the far end of the pool which has 7 ft in depth.  He was okay with that and contented at 5 ft before joining his dad at the jacuzzi pool.   Yours truly, being hopeless in this area was seen clicking away with her ever faithful digital camera.

It was a pleasant stay at the hotel and I am hoping hubby would get more of this kind of vouchers in the near future.  A short getaway from our home sweet home to relax our mind and soul.. and what's more.. a free stay.. very cheapskate hor... Hahaha..

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Thursday, September 8, 2011

We Move On..


The boy brought back an "Angry Birds" lantern and a packet of candles from school yesterday.  He said it was a small token from the school for being selected as the top 5 best self-made lanterns of the class.  He submitted a cheese cake themed lantern he made with hubby two weeks ago, no photo of the "cheese cake" as I did not take a photo of it. 

He was thrilled to have had received the small gift and it's indeed a good start for him who is slowly adapting into the new school environment.  He starts to talk positively about the school in contrary to before as he missed his friends at the old school so badly.  I'd told him once that his gf's mommy from his old school told me about how her girl's eyes turned red when she told the mother about the boy's leaving the school.  She told her mom that some close buddies in school even shed tears when their class teacher broke the news to them.  I kept a low profile on him changing school as the exam week was approaching when we knew we got a placing in his new school.  I wanted him to complete the exam with a focused mind before saying bye-bye.  He didn't disappoint us and scored 95% in overall percentage, the highest  of the 3 exams he sat for this year. 

One day, a week after changing school, the boy found a piece of paper with his buddies' names, contact numbers and addresses written on it, his eyes turned red and shed a little saying that he misses his friends so badly.  Seeing him like that, it really broke my heart.  Being a sensible and thoughtful boy that he is, he quickly covered up and told me that it was a silly prank of his and I was dumb enough to fall into it as soon as he sensed my sorrow.   My boy.. he is just too matured for his age, isn't he?

I am happy and relieved that things have slowly fallen into place and you know what, my blogging mojo is back!  Stay tuned for more updates!

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Excuse Me, Are You A Tiger Mum?

I copied the below article from here.  Yeap, copied bulat bulat, hahaha..  I did a lot of googling and reading up of late and at the same time trying to get my blogging mojo back.  Do read up to find out what parenting style you are and I have linked up some recommended sites for parenting quizzes too.  Have fun! :)

Amy Chua’s controversial memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother details her strict parenting style which includes no sleepovers, play dates or TV. In addition, the American author and Yale Law School professor talks about the virtues of drilled academic learning and intensive daily practice on the piano and violin. With a stroke of her razorsharp pen, the mother of two teenage girls has set most well-intentioned parents wondering: Is this the right parenting style? Does it really work?

Even though it feels like we respond to our teens on a case-by-case basis, our decisions have a lot to do with our parenting styles, which are shaped by the way in which we combine our warmth and affection for our teens with structure and discipline.

Years of research have categorised four different parenting styles, each of which contributes to various characteristics in teens. If you are not a self-confessed Tiger Mum, see if you can identify with any of the following styles:

Authoritarian parenting
In this style of parenting, children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents. Failure to comply usually results in punishment. Authoritarian parents fail to explain the reasoning behind these rules. If asked to explain, the parent might simply reply: “Because I said so.” These parents have high demands, but are not responsive to their children.

According to US clinical and developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind, these parents “are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation”.

Authoritarian parenting generally breeds obedient and proficient children. They, however, rank lower in happiness, social competence and selfesteem.

Authoritative parenting
Like their authoritarian counterparts, the authoritative parents establish rules and guidelines that they expect their children to follow. However, this style is much more democratic. These parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions.

When children fail to meet their expectations, they are more nurturing and forgiving, rather than punishing. Baumrind suggests that these parents “monitor and impart clear standards for their children’s conduct. They are assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive.

Their disciplinary methods are supportive, rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, self-regulated and co-operative”. An authoritative parenting style tends to result in children who are happy, capable and successful, according to US psychologist Eleanor Maccoby.

Permissive parenting
Sometimes referred to as indulgent parents, they have very few demands to make of their children. These parents rarely discipline their progeny because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control.

According to Baumrind, permissive parents “are more responsive than they are demanding. They are non-traditional and lenient, do not require mature behaviour, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation”.

Permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than that of a parent. The children will probably rank low in happiness and self-regulation. And they are more likely to experience problems with authority and perform poorly in school.

Uninvolved parenting
This is characterised by few demands, low responsiveness and little communication. While these parents fulfil the child’s basic needs, they are generally detached from their child’s life. In extreme cases, these parents may even reject or neglect their children’s needs.

Uninvolved parenting ranks lowest across all life domains. Their children may lack self-control and have low self-esteem, and are less competent than their peers.

How do you know your parenting style? It can be helpful to consider these questions:

- How clear are you about boundaries and the rules of the house?

- What do you do when the rules are broken?

- How comfortable are you in hearing your teen’s opinions and suggestions, and alternatives?

- How often do you find yourself explaining your reasoning?

- Do you know who your kids’ friends are? Their parents?

- How comfortable are you with compromise?

- Do you have to nag your teen to get things done?

- How often do you feel like your teen is taking advantage of your good nature?

If you are interested in finding out your parenting style, there are a number of websites that offer free quizzes. The best way to use this kind of information is not to criticise yourself, but identify your strengths and weaknesses. Having more knowledge on how you parent can help you to grow in the areas that you deem important.

Below are a few recommended sites for parenting quizzes:





While you discover which style you use, we will discuss the most suitable style and the role change necessary for parenting teens and tweens in a fortnight. Till then, happy parenting.

 

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