Ball

Tell me if Val is obsessed with balls or not. He mumbles 'Ball' sometimes in his sleep, and when he's awake, 80% of his time is spent chasing after the rounded objects, pushing the huge pink gym ball, throwing them helter skelter around the house, learning from granma how to bounce them off walls, and hurtling them into deep corners of the playroom. Needless to say, the first word (besides the mama, dada he used to mutter) that we can confidently say he understands is 'Ball'. Often the first thing he says when he wakes up is 'Ball?' with his tiny hands in a 'where' position. If I sign to him the Ball sign, he also knows immediately what i'm asking for. I dunno if this is a matter of nature's programming where being a boy makes him naturally keen on these things. But then again, his mama has great ball sense and can pick up most ball games easily, while daddy used to be an intrepid footballer in his youth. For now, it's amusing how everything is a 'ball' to him - the real ones, as well as everything else that can be tossed including balloons and blocks.

Warning: This is a SHAMELESSLY thick-skinned, feel good post.

So, today i wish to give myself many pats on my *now-healed back. *pat *pat *pat. First, i got back my second assignment from last semester - and it was a ..... drummmmrooolllll..... High Distinction!!! Whoot Whooot Whooot.... Combined with my first assignment, it should still give me an overall HD for that unit. ..... *clap Clap Clap* now, those who know me know that i don't boast very often or blow my own trumpet (really) So why am i so shamelessly applauding myself? Cos i just needed to feel good about myself , OKAY? This is one of those "look at yourself in the mirror, and say you're beautiful" moments. Life's dealt me very many curveballs in the last year so i think i deserve to bask in a bit of glory, albeit in my little virtual space here. Second, i was told recently that the only reason i was paid 50 cents a word (for a certain magazine) was because they know I write well enough they don't need to spend lots of time editing my pieces and so they think i deserve that amount. wooo... i tell ya, it was a simple remark, but it gave me a real thrill. truly. for a broadcast journalist turned magazine writer. i do think it's high praise. And so, in my shameless bid to make myself happy, i am broadcasting my achievements just this once on my space. So if you think it was irksome, just surf elsewhere.

Broke back

I'm not gay (in all sense of the word) but i sure feel like i've got a broken back. Thank God for acupuncture and "ba guan" cos that seemed to have eased the sprain A LOT. The Chinese physician says i've got wind circulating in my back which explains the lack of recovery from a cold. So now i have to plaster my back like an old woman, drink bowls of black, horrid, bitter medicine, and try to keep a zen state of mind for a fast recover. Arggh.. I hate to be ill.

Bear-napped!

The bear was a gift from Washington for Val's granmama but instead the lil 'un has literally bear-napped it as his own. Toys are great when they teach babies the right values. We ask him to 'sayang' and to hug the bear which he does now with great aplomb, and then when you goo-gaa over his apparent show of affection, he would - with all the might he could muster - fling the stuffed animal as far as it would sail across the room. He is tickled by our dismay. I do hope that he weans off that throwing habit which he's acquired with affection. Mr Smelly BottomLay now tosses anything in his sight - books, balls, toys, whatever. He will play with the object, study it, thumb through it, for about five minutes and once its novelty expires, --- wheeeeze ---- the said object goes crashing metres away. His little arms are rather strong i must say. So now, we are very careful not to let the throwing monster near remote controls, the telephone, or any of our cellphones which he has a penchant for. Cos, oouch... too many times already, the boy has set sail those gadgets with a sudden, wicked swing of the arm. Looks like he's taken after mama in the frisbee throwing category.

Family

Val has a pair of the most wonderful grandparents.... Then again, i think i've been blessed with a pair of the most wonderful parents... Their love is so unconditional it's touching. Much as he brings joy to them, the pair of grams certainly bring lots of joy to him too. Thanks Mom & Dad.

Table Manners

Val's taught us table manners. Truly. You see, our family's been the type that have had TV dinners since the time i had memories. But no, no, not the dysfunctional type of family that each have their own TVs, and gobble down their food unsocially. We ALL sat together in front of the TV, eating our meal and discussing the Ch8 drama serials or the evening news together. So despite all the bad stuff that's been said about eating in front of the TV, none of us are obese and anti-social. But i digress. What i meant to say was that, for a while, Val began resisting to sit in the high chair, and my Ma who usually feeds him had to resort to carrying him at the gate, distracting him enough to open up his mouth - this even if the munchkin IS hungry. one day, i just had a brainwave - duh- i realised that whenever i was outside with friends and having a meal, Val would quietly sit in the high chair, exhibiting none of those bad manners he displayed at home. So i just decided to try it out -- i asked my folks to have dinner ALL together at the proper dining table one night and plonked Val in his high chair. LO and BEHOLD! He sat there for almost 45minutes, finishing up a hearty bowl of porridge, and staying put there till everyone had finished. I only had to shove the occasional book to him to keep him occupied. Since then, the family's eating habits have changed thanks to the little man. We are now finally, after decades, using the dining table for its said purpose. Previously, it was - homework table, calligraphy table, junk table, - now, it is proudly restored to its original mission - to hold our meals. So thanks mate, for bringing table manners home. Kisses, Mummy.

Mrs Incredible

I now know why the animators chose to give Mrs Incredible the power to stretch infinitely like a rubber band. She can be pulled, contorted, and manipulated into all kinds of objects, and still look pretty good. Sounds familiar? Many days i feel like a Mrs Incredible except that i don't end up looking as good as she does. Today, ah today. It is barely past 10, and already i feel reaaalllly stretched. Really wondering when the stretch would reach that limit - what do they call it? The elastic limit. Arggh....

Learning the ropes early....

The boy's been down with viral fever this past week. We had no clue where he got it from, except that the most likely culprit could have been a fellow tot at a Gymbabes try-out session last Saturday. So, all my plans for this week (it was my 'break' week between studies and work) flew outta the window to care for the poor boy who was really miserable especially on the first day of having high fever. Today, his fever was completely gone so i brought him to a playground for a lil time out of the house. He's still too young to enjoy the ropes but his toes (ahh! those toes!) they still show so much potential to be a rock climber. I think he has griper glue on them.....





Seeking out new playthings...


Poking his curious fingers into everything, everywhere


"hmm... how do i get onto this?"

Nuts- 2

So the Nuts have arrived...........they look and feel sticky and i can't wait to get them in the washing machine. But we didn't wash anything today.... tomorrow it shall be. To the test, soap nuts... and when i have MORE TIME....... (ah... that is a luxury) i shall start making my soap nut concoctions.

idle mind

ONE day... that's all it took for me to be glad that i am studying and working and being stressed out by it. Early this morning at 0034hrs, i submitted my second essay of the semester and went to bed. I woke up, a few hours later, wondering 'Hmm... what shall i do today?' In the end, the day melted away like butter on hot corn. It was fun, yes it was, playing ball with Val but after a while i really got restless and itched to get back to my studies. How SICK is that? LOL. really. and so, although i had declared a week of rest before the summer semester starts on 9 Nov, i actually went to the uni's distant learning website and began downloading study notes and readings! That experience brought a pleasurable tingle down my back.. Oooo i am turning into geeky mom. But truly, i really expected myself to veg out, relieved that the final essay was done but i didn't. So perhaps i was born to have a hard life - you know, the sorta life where one never really gets to rest, prefering to be occupied constantly. I need to be able to just chill and idle. That - i would say - is an art.