They referred to our book bin as the library and "drove" their buses to it. I helped them set up an "electronic" borrowing station similar to our library.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Pretend Play
As the boys reached 2.5 years old, pretend play is what they do all day. These are times when I truly appreciate them being twins as pretend play is so much more fun with a mate.
They referred to our book bin as the library and "drove" their buses to it. I helped them set up an "electronic" borrowing station similar to our library.
How did my laundry basket become a supermarket trolley?
They referred to our book bin as the library and "drove" their buses to it. I helped them set up an "electronic" borrowing station similar to our library.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Time Alone, with a child.
I didn't see how this is working for us when my individual time with one child usually lead to extreme jealousy from the other child.
Since they are twins, I don't get a lot of time alone with each child. The only times were the ones I dread, like one not going down for their nap or one waking up 30 mins into their nap. I started with 10 mins of individual time at home in my room doing some reading and playing puzzles with them. But that just resulted in 10 mins of individual time with one child and 10 mins of crying for the other. So, I changed my plan and brought one out each time. It can be quite enjoyable to bring just one. Being stretched with 2 toddlers in tow most of the time, bringing one out is a breeze. All was fine till recently, they cannot accept it's the other's turn. So, this individual time became another happy time for one and a devastating time for the other.
My plan has to change again. This week, I got my mum to bring K out and I made them go out first before Y and I set off. But I had a hard time with Y, check out his attitude from our conversation below:
Me: Hey, let's go ride on the LRT (I thought he would like it since he hasn't ride on one)
Y: No... I don't want.
Me: It's going to be fun. We are going to take a MRT train, then a LRT train.
Y: NO... it's raining (it was not and he continued to play with his toys.)
Me: OK.
Y (after a while, decided that staying home is not so fun after all): I want to take a bus.
Me: OK, let's go take a bus then.
On the way to the bus stop
Y: I want Mummy to carry you. (he is still confused with pronounce.)
Me: No, you walk to the bus stop and Mummy will carry you.
Y: Mummy will carry you when we reach the bus stop.
Me (trying to encourage him to get up the bus as he is a little scared of that): Will you try to get on the bus on your own?
Y: No.
Me: Will you try?
Y: I cannot.
Me: How do you know when you haven't even try?
Y: I do before. (started to ignore me)
The boys were really terrified of going up the bus and escalator but K has since overcome his fear from our last alone trip. When we reached the escalator, Y refused to take the lift so I told him he has to try to do it with me helping if he wants the escalator. He reluctantly agreed and was a little terrified when we were on it. But he happily exclaimed, "You did it!" when we got off and asked to do it again.
He slowly gained his confidence and was stepping up and down the escalator by the 3rd one. On our way home, I asked him again.
Me: Will you try to get on the bus on your own?
Y: No.
Thought for a while
Y: I want!
He did and when he got up, he exclaimed again "You did it!" (he meant "I did it").
It was from 2 alone trips that the boys conquered their fear and I'm starting to believe that individual time is beneficial for the children as we never know how much or how little attention we are giving to each one when we have 2 (or more for some) at one time.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Lessons Your Children can Teach You
The boys have been driving me crazy (as usual) but they made me ponder over a few things for the past 2 days. After Y threw his toy in the dustbin in defiance, purposely played with his chair and fell off and later poured Milo all over the floor, I decided it's time to get out of the house.
We went to a playground further away from our home. With the hot sun, the playground was quiet, with only 1 boy around the same age as them. I found out later from his Granny that he was just a month older than them.
I have to use the word "brat" to describe him. He scolded his Granny "I'll beat you!!" whenever she asked him not to do something.
Y&K were playing happily at the playground when this boys decided to rush to anything K walked to. I was displeased but still asked K to play with other stations. K was very disappointed whenever the station he walked to was being hijacked by the boy, he just waited and went to it happily when the boy moved away.
Then, we were at the slide and the boy, again, got in front of him and even pushed him. K lost his balance and fell on the ground but he picked himself up. The boy then refused to slide down, sitting at the top of the slide. I was getting irritated as we have tried our best to avoid him. So, I told K to say "excuse me" to the boy and go down the slide first but K answered, "let the boy go first.". I was surprised and luckily, the boy slid down and K went after.
K wanted the swing and was walking towards it when the boy, AGAIN, dashed for it. I distracted K and asked him to ride on a motorcycle. The boy left the swing when he sees K on the motorcycle. K wanted to go to the swing when he saw the swing was empty. We walked over and was about to get up when the boy saw and ran over demanding the swing. This time, I was getting very annoyed. I believe I should teach my sons to be assertive instead of giving in to a boy with unreasonable demands time after time. I ignored the boy and carried K on the swing. Y was already on the other swing then. The boy screamed and ran to his Granny crying. I paid no notice to him but the boys didn't play long before they have this conversation between themselves:
Y: K, let's get down and let the boy have a turn.
K: I want to get down and let the boy have a turn.
I helped him down and he even ran to the boy and told him "it's your turn.".
I felt so ashamed. I was being petty as I think I was angry with the boy for pushing K but the boys has displayed such magnanimousness and also showed empathy to the boy who weren't nice at all.
Lessons I learnt today,
today just now, until an hour later when they started throwing food on the floor and running away from me refusing to take their bath.
We went to a playground further away from our home. With the hot sun, the playground was quiet, with only 1 boy around the same age as them. I found out later from his Granny that he was just a month older than them.
I have to use the word "brat" to describe him. He scolded his Granny "I'll beat you!!" whenever she asked him not to do something.
Y&K were playing happily at the playground when this boys decided to rush to anything K walked to. I was displeased but still asked K to play with other stations. K was very disappointed whenever the station he walked to was being hijacked by the boy, he just waited and went to it happily when the boy moved away.
Then, we were at the slide and the boy, again, got in front of him and even pushed him. K lost his balance and fell on the ground but he picked himself up. The boy then refused to slide down, sitting at the top of the slide. I was getting irritated as we have tried our best to avoid him. So, I told K to say "excuse me" to the boy and go down the slide first but K answered, "let the boy go first.". I was surprised and luckily, the boy slid down and K went after.
K wanted the swing and was walking towards it when the boy, AGAIN, dashed for it. I distracted K and asked him to ride on a motorcycle. The boy left the swing when he sees K on the motorcycle. K wanted to go to the swing when he saw the swing was empty. We walked over and was about to get up when the boy saw and ran over demanding the swing. This time, I was getting very annoyed. I believe I should teach my sons to be assertive instead of giving in to a boy with unreasonable demands time after time. I ignored the boy and carried K on the swing. Y was already on the other swing then. The boy screamed and ran to his Granny crying. I paid no notice to him but the boys didn't play long before they have this conversation between themselves:
Y: K, let's get down and let the boy have a turn.
K: I want to get down and let the boy have a turn.
I helped him down and he even ran to the boy and told him "it's your turn.".
I felt so ashamed. I was being petty as I think I was angry with the boy for pushing K but the boys has displayed such magnanimousness and also showed empathy to the boy who weren't nice at all.
Lessons I learnt today,
- Don't fret over small stuff. It's just a push and K wasn't hurt, what's the big deal.
- Forgive and forget.
- Show empathy, be nice, even to nasty people.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Pipe Cleaner Sirens
What you are seeing is a Mummy's frantic attempt to placate an inconsolable Y whose world was about to crumble when he found that the siren on his police car fell off. We couldn't find the siren that had dropped and Pipe Cleaner was my savior for the day. He even got to choose the color for his siren. But I see trouble when his Van needs a siren, followed by his Dump Truck... his Bus.... I knew this has to stop when I see K pulling out his drawer of cars in excitement. But seeing Y's face brightened is worth it even if I have to install sirens for all their cars. :0
Planting Seeds
An introduction to Gardening.
What You Need:
Plastic Containers
Cotton Wool
Beans (I used Green Beans)
Water
Spray Bottle (optional but it's a must to get my boys interested)Method
Just lay the seeds on the cotton wool and spray water on it. I had to do everything until the spraying part as the boys were not interested at all.
See how a spray bottle transformed a grumpy boy to a happy boy?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Calm Down Place
Another crazy month. I just wish I can say "it's a good month" soon. I don't know what to say with the things that has been happening in our home. Maybe I should just recap with these series of events that happened within 2 months (or probably less):
My mother had a Cataract operation
K went for his Hydrocele operation
Y started to be very jealous of K and behaved very badly
My mother in law was hospitalized
My domestic helper quit on us
My mother in law had to go through a Stomach operation
My husband went for a business trip to Europe a week after my domestic helper quited
The boys fell sick for a week when my husband was away
It was a very difficult period with the boys high with their meltdowns relay marathon. It was very draining for me. There was no time to blog at all. And I missed blogging. It was impossible to do any learning activities with the boys with the loads of laundry waiting to be washed, the dishes in the sink, the toys all around the house. It didn't help when someone is crying 99% of the time. The tension and stress in the household is affecting the boys. It's a vicious cycle, they behaved worse and they drained us further.
Anyway, I decided today that I'm leaving the dishes, the laundry and the toys and to take some photos and share something I did with you, for those still visiting this blog. My self worth index is dropping near to zero and being able to blog and knowing that someone out there is listening to me, reading and commenting what I'm writing is preventing my self worth index dropping down to negative.
So, I'm sharing my Calm Down Place with you. With the frequent meltdowns, the boys are often brought into my room to calm down. I wanted to have a designated calm down place and have transformed one small space at the side of our bed to be the place where they calm down.
This worked for the first few times. They stopped crying when they came to this corner to find their own crying face. But after 2 days, it's no longer working. I can't keep up with my sons! They get bored too fast. Anyway, this will be the designated Calm Down Place for them whether they like it or not and they will get to slide it back to the happy boy picture after they calmed down.
Alright, hope you like this. Please share if you have a calm down place for your child. I rushed to get this place up in 15 mins, it doesn't look as pleasing as I would like it to be. Now, I've got to go back to the laundry, the dishes and the toys.
My mother had a Cataract operation
K went for his Hydrocele operation
Y started to be very jealous of K and behaved very badly
My mother in law was hospitalized
My domestic helper quit on us
My mother in law had to go through a Stomach operation
My husband went for a business trip to Europe a week after my domestic helper quited
The boys fell sick for a week when my husband was away
It was a very difficult period with the boys high with their meltdowns relay marathon. It was very draining for me. There was no time to blog at all. And I missed blogging. It was impossible to do any learning activities with the boys with the loads of laundry waiting to be washed, the dishes in the sink, the toys all around the house. It didn't help when someone is crying 99% of the time. The tension and stress in the household is affecting the boys. It's a vicious cycle, they behaved worse and they drained us further.
Anyway, I decided today that I'm leaving the dishes, the laundry and the toys and to take some photos and share something I did with you, for those still visiting this blog. My self worth index is dropping near to zero and being able to blog and knowing that someone out there is listening to me, reading and commenting what I'm writing is preventing my self worth index dropping down to negative.
So, I'm sharing my Calm Down Place with you. With the frequent meltdowns, the boys are often brought into my room to calm down. I wanted to have a designated calm down place and have transformed one small space at the side of our bed to be the place where they calm down.
 |
| Our Calm Down Place |
 |
| I photocopied pictures of some faces drawings from a book they like. |
 |
| And I have a slider to show Their Feelings. |
Alright, hope you like this. Please share if you have a calm down place for your child. I rushed to get this place up in 15 mins, it doesn't look as pleasing as I would like it to be. Now, I've got to go back to the laundry, the dishes and the toys.
Monday, April 25, 2011
K's Surgery
It had been a mad month for us... (well, which month hasn't been? We have nothing but chaos in our household since they were born)
Just before K turned 1 year old, my husband found one of his testics to be unusually bigger. Thank god my husband helps out with the children, if not, I would never have noticed. The PD diagnosed it as Hydrocele. It's basically water in the testics. We were worried sick then and was referred to a surgeon for a possible surgery. The surgeon suggested putting it off as most kids will just outgrow this. These are times when good faith didn't work. I was so confident that K will outgrow this and will not require the surgery. I couldn't accept it very well when we had to make an appointment for the surgery to drain the fluid and to close up the tube that allows water in.
I tried my best to prepare K for the surgery. Describing to him how an operating theatre would look like and how the medical officers would be dressed there. We were told he might need to use a mask and I also explained to him that he might need to use a mask. It seem to work very well. Though I know he wasn't comfortable at the OT, he was calm and that surprised all the nurses and doctors. We had 2 choiced of anesthesia. By injection or using the mask. By injection is quick and fuss free but most kids are very fearful of injections and if they were not successful, it gets a lot more tricky to get them to use the mask. K never cried during their vaccinations so I opt for the jap. But they couldn't find the vein and poked him many times until they gave up. K was very brave, he didn't even bat an eyelid when the needle went in. The Anesthetist was really surprised that K didn't cry. We had to resort to using the mask and K was quite nervous when the Anesthetist put the mask to his face and all the nurses tried to pin him down when he turned away. I asked to hold the mask and they allowed me. It was a lot better but the nurses tried to hold his head and he was scared. I kept asking them to be gentle and there was no need to pin him down as he was actually quite calm and I can handle the struggling. I tried to distract him by talking to him, telling him that Y is waiting for him at home, his granny is waiting for him. He shouted "I want Y to wait for K! I want Ah Ma to wait for K!" before drifting off.
The surgery went smoothly and he is recovering well. But he has quite a bad temper for the past few weeks and Y had been very jealous of him, resulting in a lot of fights between them. They can't play harmoniously even for a few mins. I'm totally exhausted and is equally irritable as them, behaving like a mad mom screaming and shouting like them. The hot and humid weather in Singapore is not helping. Every day, every hour, every min is a struggle from bath to diaper change to meals. I'm praying hard that things improve around here. It's had been going from bad to worse around the time when they were turning 2 years old. Just praying hard that this is just a difficult T2 phase and will pass soon like a thunderstorm.
Just before K turned 1 year old, my husband found one of his testics to be unusually bigger. Thank god my husband helps out with the children, if not, I would never have noticed. The PD diagnosed it as Hydrocele. It's basically water in the testics. We were worried sick then and was referred to a surgeon for a possible surgery. The surgeon suggested putting it off as most kids will just outgrow this. These are times when good faith didn't work. I was so confident that K will outgrow this and will not require the surgery. I couldn't accept it very well when we had to make an appointment for the surgery to drain the fluid and to close up the tube that allows water in.
I tried my best to prepare K for the surgery. Describing to him how an operating theatre would look like and how the medical officers would be dressed there. We were told he might need to use a mask and I also explained to him that he might need to use a mask. It seem to work very well. Though I know he wasn't comfortable at the OT, he was calm and that surprised all the nurses and doctors. We had 2 choiced of anesthesia. By injection or using the mask. By injection is quick and fuss free but most kids are very fearful of injections and if they were not successful, it gets a lot more tricky to get them to use the mask. K never cried during their vaccinations so I opt for the jap. But they couldn't find the vein and poked him many times until they gave up. K was very brave, he didn't even bat an eyelid when the needle went in. The Anesthetist was really surprised that K didn't cry. We had to resort to using the mask and K was quite nervous when the Anesthetist put the mask to his face and all the nurses tried to pin him down when he turned away. I asked to hold the mask and they allowed me. It was a lot better but the nurses tried to hold his head and he was scared. I kept asking them to be gentle and there was no need to pin him down as he was actually quite calm and I can handle the struggling. I tried to distract him by talking to him, telling him that Y is waiting for him at home, his granny is waiting for him. He shouted "I want Y to wait for K! I want Ah Ma to wait for K!" before drifting off.
The surgery went smoothly and he is recovering well. But he has quite a bad temper for the past few weeks and Y had been very jealous of him, resulting in a lot of fights between them. They can't play harmoniously even for a few mins. I'm totally exhausted and is equally irritable as them, behaving like a mad mom screaming and shouting like them. The hot and humid weather in Singapore is not helping. Every day, every hour, every min is a struggle from bath to diaper change to meals. I'm praying hard that things improve around here. It's had been going from bad to worse around the time when they were turning 2 years old. Just praying hard that this is just a difficult T2 phase and will pass soon like a thunderstorm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
