First Trip to the Post Office

We received a surprise present via mail from their friend one day. The boys were very excited to receive the present and the boys wanted to send a mail back. I got a coloring book and a stationery set for them to post. I thought it's a great opportunity to let them learn about Mails and Postman.

Y drawing "something" for his friend.

K said he drew a Singapore Flyer.

K putting his gift and card into the envelope.

Y too.

Y jumped into his bed and told me he is ready for his nap after I said I will only bring him to the post office if he takes his nap. He had been skipping naps. 

Boys with their $2 note and their parcels.

In the queue to buy stamps.

I just can't help laughing when I see the serious look on K's face.

Y said to the lady at the counter very clearly, "I want to buy stamp!"

K was hilarious. He was so nervous, he threw the parcel and the money on the table.

 

Boys with their parcels, getting ready to drop into the mailbox.

It was a happy day after posting the parcels to their friend. They had a better understanding of how to mail a letter or parcel.

No Ordinary Soya Bean drink

This is no ordinary soya bean drink. Y ordered it all by himself. 

Brotherhood, a Love Hate Relationship

While reading to K this evening without Y (he slept early as he skipped his nap) a book about families, K suddenly said "I don't like Y." I looked at him but he changed the topic quickly about his fears for Elmo. I didn't pursue further.

After our stories time and our goodnight hug and kiss, I told him,

"We are family. Y is your brother. Sometimes we fight....."

 Before I could even finish my sentence, he said,

"Sometimes you don't snatch the roller brush away when I'm playing with it."

I was very stunned with his response. I wasn't expecting this from a barely 3 years old. I realized he was still angry with his brother over the brush fighting incident earlier in the afternoon. I continued,

Me: "are you angry with Y for snatching your roller brush this afternoon?"
K: "Yes"
Me: "Will you forgive him"

He looked away.

Me: "Y was wrong to snatch your brush. He should have asked for your permission first. We all make mistakes, will you forgive him?"

He finally nodded his head and I tucked him in for bed.

I'm happy K was able to express his feelings to me but I feel I'm a bad mediator. I wonder how I'm going to handle such expressions of strong feelings in future. One second hatred and bites, the next moment love and hugs, a lot more to come.

Ouch!!

Siblings fight all the time but my boys’ fights had been a worrying problem since 6 months old. When I confide in people about their fights, that I can’t take my eyes off them to prevent the bad fights, the response I get is always, “oh.. boys.. they fight all the time…”. Hmm... How about fights that are really aggressive and fights that draw blood?

I decided to take a picture of one of the many bite injuries, with the intention to show them when they grow up, to let them know this is how bad their fights were, since baby time. And if you think this bite is bad, it’s far from the worst bites in our family history. This photo was taken a day after the bite and as I tried to take it without him knowing, it was too dark to even show how the real thing looks like. There were many times when I almost feel faint and wonder if I should bring the kid to the doctor when I see the bite mark.

I‘ve tried many methods that the parenting book suggest, time outs, ignore the offender, very stern scolding, separating them, etc and they are still biting. As they grow older, the bites get more serious and I’m trying to find a way to stop it, effectively and immediately. I can’t let my other child be bitten again and again as a learning progress for his sibling.

I took a step back and tried to understand why Y bite. I began to suspect the recent biting episodes are due to Y’s jealousy of K’s potty training advancement. So, I tried, my very best to show more attention to Y, to see him in a better light, bring out the best in him and bringing him out for our individual time. The past 5 days had been bite free. I’m hoping it stays this way. I’m still trying to find an effective response to stop this biting. Caning is my last resort. I bought a cane one afternoon in a fit of anger after Y bite K again but I withheld the cane. My husband feels strongly about no caning. He was often caned when he was a child. We also feel that we should not use violence to counter a violent act. If we tell them we should not bite, neither should we hit. But I haven’t found the miracle response that will stop the biting if any of them bite again.

Anyone out there who had the same experience as us and found an effective way to stop this? Any advice is appreciated! 

Pegs Match Game

Completed these in 5 mins to get my twins up the high chair for lunch, all with available materials on my dining table. I just gave myself away. Now you can imagine the kind of junk and clutter I have on my dining table!

Things You Need:

• Index Cards or any card stock
• Wooden Clothes Pegs
• 2 sets of stickers

Methods:
Just paste 1 set of stickers on the card and the other set on the pegs. Tata!

Kept them occupied for a while and we had a cooperative meal.

Countering Bathtime Battle

Bathtime Battle is still a common problem in our household. I've exhaused my list of tactics to lure them into the bathroom. But I pride myself for being quick thinking Mom. My colorful newly bought washing sponge did the trick on this day.

"choose your battles wisely" is the best advice I've got from parenting books. This is one battle that's pointless to fight. I have a toilet wall that was left sparkling clean with 2 helpful toddlers scrubbing very hard. 2 clean and sweet smelling babies. And a happy Mummy.

Painting with Homemade Paint

After the last messy painting session, a friend gave me a splendid idea of making my own paint. I have never thought of making my own paint. It sounds like a crazy idea for a twin mom. My hands and legs (literally) are kept busy countering their fights and meltdowns, “Where got time?” (in Singlish) But since I’m not willing to part with more money paint for another painting session, I kept that in mind but I didn’t expect to do it so soon.

Y crept up to my computer sneakily on this day and saw the pictures of the messy painting after I finished blogging. K was rummaging the shopping bag and dug out the squeeze bottles that I bought. They were a steal at S$0.40 each at Japan Home and I swept the whole shelf. Then they started harassing me to let them paint.

Of course I’m not willing to take out my brand new bottles of Crayola paint so I told them we are going to make our own. It’s so easy that I managed to whip something out when I have no idea at all how to start. I simply put some corn flour and water in a pot and put to boil on the stove. While waiting for the starch to cool, I got out my box of water color tubes and let them choose their own colors to put into the squeeze bottles. After that, pour the starch in and shake. Tata!

Ok, I know this sounds like crap tutorial but since it was so impromptu, I didn’t know how much flour and water I used and with sticky hands, it was not possible to take pictures while doing it and making sure that my 2 toddlers won’t fight themselves to death or run round the house with the corn starch. I will do this again and next time, I’m gonna share with you a better tutorial.
Here’s Paint in Progress.

Y was making tracks with the paint.

K kept shouting "My car is stuck in the mud!!" while painting.

Endless Pretend Play

Toddlers are a joy to watch when they enter their pretend wonderland. On this morning, my dear Y picked out a pair of scissors from his play medical kit (thank god it's not any other scissors) and started pretending to be a hairdresser. They enjoy their monthly haircut and even have their favorite stylist. It's almost a treat when I announced we are going for a hair cut. I almost burst out laughing when I saw him holding a surgical knife toy as a comb. I must say he really looked quite professional with his cutting style!

He found a happy and willing victim customer

and he started working on the Vidal Sassoon inspired haircut

but his customer eventually got bored. Since he was not offered any magazines during his haircut, he probably didn't know he really should provide some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Magazine for his client.

Nevertheless, we still have a satisfied customer and they played on the whole morning.