Give me Give me!

I was reading an article about a little boy who was given a $4000 tree house when he was 9 months old. The mother goes on to say that he is allowed to buy whatever he wants, be it toys or books. He’s now all of 3 1/2 and has travelled to countries that I can only dream of.  She claims that she wants her child to have different life experiences and not grow up to be narrow-minded. I tend to think that she’s breeding an indulged child who has no concept of a dollar.

I consider my children very lucky, sure they don’t go on ten trips a year nor do they have expensive toys. But they never lack love, attention or any material comfort that they need. If money wasn’t an issue, I would love to bring them to different countries and experience different cultures and lifestyles.

We can afford to give them a lot more than we ever had, but I always stress to Ally that it’s not a given. She should not expect to eat at restaurants all the time, going on holidays is a luxury and we don’t buy everything we see just because we want it. Ally understands that Matt works long and hard to earn money for the family. As she once said put it, ” Dada goes to work so that we can buy chicken rice”

Instead of indulging her every fancy, we point out that she has similar toys at home or she has to wait till a special occasion. Personally, I find that she treasures the item a lot more when she’s had to wait or save up for it. When you bury children in toys, it starts to lose its meaning. Who cares if I lose one car, I still have hundreds more. They forget what they have and don’t appreciate it. I admit, both my kids have lots of toys. They are lucky to have been given them by friends and relatives. I relentlessly cull or rotate their toys as I’ve seen firsthand how careless they start to be when they have too many choices.

Now, back to the mom who gives her child everything. She states in the article that “I want him to be versatile and know that there’s a world beyond him, his school  and playground.” How can she expect the child to see beyond himself when all she does is indulge him? Think about it.

 

 

 

Fun With Daddy

The kids always have a wild time with Matt. He thinks of the craziest games to play and it always ends up with everyone laughing hysterically.

A seemingly innocent looking cushion

Hides a very cheeky girl

And a little Pork Chop

And here comes Daddy aka the tickle monster!

Ally awaits her faith nervously....

Max is tickled even when he isn't being tickled

He’s Growing Up

Max is growing up so quickly and is becoming a real boy. Okay I know that sounds stupid because he is obviously a boy, but what I mean is he’s starting to show a real interest in cars, trains and basically anything that he can zoom around.

Nowadays my bag contains at least one of his little cars which I whip out to entertain him whenever necessary. It still amuses me to watch him find any little corner and start zooming his car around. Sometimes he’ll just lie in the middle of the living room, tummy down, and push the car around . This keeps him quietly entertained for a good half an hour which is always welcomed.

Day 2 of the Strider

Well it’s day 2 of the Strider and so far we’ve had one fall. Ally attempted to go down a slope and she just wasn’t prepared for the speed. Anyway, she got over the fall and I’m proud to say that she’s really getting the hang of it. Her confidence is growing and she’s now trying to place her legs on the footrest instead of letting them hang out. At times she’s really pretty good and can coast for quite a distance. The bike is holding up well, she has dropped it, banged it and it still looks new.

Max has decided that it’s more fun watching Ally at the moment instead of trying it out himself. One thing I’ve realised, the handle bars are too wide for him at this point in time. He’s quite small built so the width is a bit hard for him to cope with. It’s the perfect size for Ally, the light weight is an added bonus. Overall I still feel the bike is perfect for kids of a smaller built.  I’ll try to get some videos of Ally on the bike this afternoon.

Review of the Strider Bike

Max’s strider bike arrived this morning, we have had about an hour to test it out so this is my premature review of the bike so far.

Assembly: It came with instructions that I took one look at and decided to ignore. The parts were pretty easy to put together, just simple common sense. I had Matt tighten up the bolts but that’s about it. If i can put it together, most people can.

Optional extras: Since both the kids were going to share the bike, we purchased an extra clamp to help us adjust the seat easily. The extra $7.50 was money well spent, I can’t imagine having to get the spanner out each time a different child wanted to use the bike.

The bike: It’s light which is good for both the kids and I. The color is exactly as what is shown in the pictures. My only complain? The wheels! A full rubber wheel would have given better grip. These plastic wheels are extremely slippery on some surfaces and for a toddler trying to learn how to balance, it’s easy for them to skid. Maybe with more use the tyres will start to have a little more grip, we’ll see.

At the lowest setting, the bike is still slightly high for our little Max. He was a bit hesitant at first when he realised that the bike doesn’t hold itself up. With one of us helping him, he could scoot along pretty well within 5 minutes. It’s a back-breaking job for the person helping him but as his confidence grows (and hopefully his height as well) we won’t need to bend over so much anymore.

After Max, Ally had a turn. I was eager to see how she would take to it. She has tried the wooden versions before and never liked them as she found them extremely heavy. After Matt explained the concept to her, she was off. Within ten minutes she could coast a little on her own. There is an integrated footrest on the bike but Ally prefers to ride her bike like a circus performer. She lets her legs hang all the way out which makes her look like a gangly spider. I’ve no doubt that she’ll get the hang of the bike pretty soon.

So far we’re pretty please with the bike, Max will definitely get a lot more years out of it and it’ll help build Ally’s confidence to ride a 2 wheeler. Now we have to wait to see if the bike holds up under the hands of my two monkeys.

Sorry No Kids Allowed

 

I recently read about several restaurants who have decided to implement a “No Kids Policy” . Okay, I know it was out in the papers a while ago but forgive me for being late, I used to joke that I no longer read news, I now read history.

Of course this caused several parents to get their knickers in a twist. ” How dare they turn away families with children! Isn’t the government always asking us to have more kids?! etc etc”

Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like overnight ALL restaurants have said they don’t welcome children. It’s just a handful of restaurants who obviously cater to a different sort of crowd. As a parent, I know that there are some places where children just aren’t welcome. It’s fine with me, if I was out for a romantic dinner with Matt, the last thing I want is some screaming child at the next table. Besides, it’s the restaurant’s right to decide if kids should be allowed.

No matter how well behaved my children are, children are well, children! You can’t expect them to sit still or stay quiet throughout a 3 course meal. The only time Ally is quiet at the dinner table is when she has a mouthful of food.

I have one thing to say to parents who think that the whole world is ending just because they can’t visit a few restaurants with their children. Eat somewhere else!

A Quiet Afternoon

The kids and I are usually out and about most afternoons but today I was feeling lazy so we all decided to stay home. Ally wanted to draw so I took out the art supplies and set them loose.

Max is pretty good with markers

Even though Ally’s gross motor skills are quite advanced, she struggles with her finer motor skills. She is still struggling with her tripod grip and holds her pencil in a funny way. To my surprise, she has figured out how to use the scissors properly.

Ally's new haircut!

Max got bored after a while and decided he’ll try to give himself a fake tan.

He started off by coloring the mosquito bite on his thigh

Thank goodness for washable markers! Once he was done coloring himself, he decided the floor needed to be colored as well. Luckily I stopped him before he could make a big mess.

Since Ally had her picnic blanket out, we decided to have a picnic dinner. Okay, the truth is I was too lazy to cook so I decided to order pizza for everyone. To make it seem more exciting, I told the kids we’ll have a pizza picnic. Ally loved the idea, Max just wanted to walk everywhere with his plate of pizza. I didn’t manage to take any pictures of our picnic because I was too busy trying to prevent Max from smearing pizza everywhere and trying to feed myself at the same time.

Since the kids were fed and contented, what else could they do but squabble. They fought over a ball, they fought over another toy then they decided to spin themselves round and round to see who would fall over first.

Despite their fights, they always kiss and make up in the end

It’s going to be an unusually quiet weekend for us as well. With the flu epidemic, I’m trying to keep the children away from crowded places. Besides, Max’s bike is being delivered tomorrow and I he can’t wait to try it out.

A Hairy Affair

I decided to take Max to get his hair cut since he was starting to look like an extra from ” Planet of the Apes” . To my surprise, Ally asked to get her hair cut as well, or as she put it ” I want my hair just like Max’s!” We compromised on a short bob instead.

Max usually gets his hair cut at United Square, the lady at Junior League is fast and pretty good. It’s definitely expensive at $22 a cut but the TV keeps him entertained so I have no complains.

This time round he actually sat in the chair all on his own. I was sure that he was going to protest but luckily we had Thomas to distract him. I sat next to him and he held onto my hand the entire time.

He didn’t quite like the shaver but managed to remain quite still for the lady to finish. I was really proud of him!

Next up was Ally who said to me “Mama, I don’t need you to sit with me, you can go and play with Max” She acted so grown up, first she chose her DVD, then she explained to the lady what sort of hairstyle she wanted.

I miss her long hair

I was a bit hesitant to let her cut her hair, it’s taken 3 years for it to grow past her shoulder! But she was certain she wanted it short. And actually her new hairstyle is really growing onto me, she looks a lot neater , most importantly, SHE loves it. Unfortunately I don’t have a good after shot of Ally with her short hair, will try to take one tomorrow.

A much neater looking Max, the cut looks much better today since it has had time to settle

A Surprise For Max

Ever since Max’s prison break attempt, we decided that he is probably ready to learn to ride a bike. Now the problem with having vertically challenged kids is finding the right size bike for them.We had the same problem when Ally was about his age as well, in the end she had to make do with her plastic trike but even that is too big for Max at the moment.

After much research, I decided to buy him a Strider Bike. It’s height adjustable which hopefully means he’ll get a few years use out of it. It could also mean jack all if he decides he doesn’t actually like the bike. It’s supposedly light which would make it easier for him to handle or it would mean it just easier for him to pick it up and hit someone with.

I’ll do a review of the bike once it’s been delivered and the kids have had a chance to try it out so stay tune!

 

Special Memories

My cousin is a photography buff and even has a mini studio in his home. We had a very impromptu photo shoot at his place where the entire family had gathered for his home warming party.

My brother and grandfather, in my personal opinion, two of the few good men around

This photo is very special to me, my brother is not only my best friend but has one of the kindest hearts you can ever find. He’s very similar to my grandfather, both are quiet individuals who prefer to blend into the background than be the life of the party.

3 generations in 1 photo

I look terrible in the photo, like a poster child for hangovers. Anyway I still like this photo cos it’s the only one we have of our entire family with my grandfather. Ally and Max are his only great grandchildren and he always lights up when they are around.

Now for the kids…..

An extremely happy Ally

The kids were in fantastic moods that afternoon

Still happy!

My Little Man

Nothing beats spending time with the family, have a great weekend!