PINGO: Over 5 Free Hours of International Phone Calls!

Just recently, some of my friend's children came home from their studies in the United States to do an internship. Being around them reminded me of my university days... assignments, early morning classes, quizzes, tests, writing reports etc.... But most of all, the feeling of missing home.

I remember when I first arrived in the United States, I wanted to call home to tell my parents I was okay. But I soon realized I couldn't as I didn't have an calling card. It took me a few days to figure how things worked before I could make that call back home.

Deciding on an long distance phone card can be just as confusing. You're not sure which one will give you the best deal. Well, you don't have to be in a limbo like I was.

Pingo is a prepaid calling card service that saves you big money on long distance calls. You don't have to worry about hidden fees. The price you see is what you pay. The only other fee you have to pay is a nominal monthly maintenance fee of USD 98 cents. The calling rates at Pingo are very low and very competitive. To see the full list of countries Pingo reaches and their calling card rates click here.

PINGO also has a Business & Family Plan. You can create sub accounts for business associates and family members, then manage those accounts from a single master account.

Pingo is a great communication option. For example, if you are going away on a business trip, get an International Prepaid Phone Card. Stay in touch with your loved ones for an affordable price.

Now when you sign up with PINGO, you'll receive $8 in FREE Calls! You will receive up to 5 hours of free International calls. Here is the code for the special discount: “ppp3”. It is valid for $3 off Pingo. So, in summary, you receive $25 phone card for just $17.

Also, you can join Pingo’s calling card affiliate program. Earn $15 for each friend you refer.

Tag: I Am Loved

I am so honored to received this tag from Mumsgather. I love reading her blog too as I feel we have a lot of children related experiences in common.
Okay, so spread the love, spread the love. I spread the love to:

• Big Pumpkin - I just love your little pumpkin.
  
• The New Parent - You have such wonderful insights.
• Hijack Queen - I like your photos, especially the food ones.
• Marsha Maung - I enjoy your writing and thoughts, plus you crack me up sometimes.
  

Sleeping In Their Own Room

I'm sure everyone has a story to tell when it comes to their children's sleeping habits. Just look at how my daughter sleeps. She is a master contortionist. I don't know why they like to sleep froggy style???? Something to do with reflections of the time they spent in the womb, maybe?

Anyway, my topic for today is getting children to sleep in their own room. Many parents are afraid to co-sleep with their children because they are afraid they may never claim back their sleeping space. The question "how to kick them out of my bed later ah?" weighs heavily on their minds.

Well, I'm here to tell you there is hope. You won't believe it, my daughter decided ON HER OWN, to sleep in her own room herself. And with the door closed too. Yeah... no hassle, no bribing, no pleading, no tantrums, no running back to my room, no nice decoration to make it enticing, no nothing. I didn't even ask her to go! And sometimes, her brother decides he wants to sleep in the other room with his sister too. Wow, a 2-in-1 package deal.

How did I do it? Errr... I really don't know. The following may have helped:

• It's their playroom. So, maybe the room is associated with fun.
• We keep referring to it as THEIR room. Maybe she likes the idea of ownership.
• When my mom comes to visit, she sleeps there with her.
• We keep telling her that one day she will have to move to her room. There was hinting that "one day" would be the day she starts Std.1. Well, she starts next year. Maybe the deadline helped.
  

But she does keep asking for that double decker bed. Sorry dear, no money now.

So to all the parents out there who fear you may have to pull out all your hair before you get your children to sleep in their own room... it may turn out to be not so bad after all.
I'm just glad I still have my small baby to cuddle in bed while my other babies are growing up. Sob!

Teaching Kids About Safety

I was quite tickled the other day when Baby D tried to crawl after his siblings as they rushed out the door to go play outside. Thank goodness my daughter remembered to close the gate, or I'm sure he would have crawled out with them. I can already see the impatience in this little baby's eyes to do the things his siblings are doing. Oh no! Another 'Energizer battery' in the making.

Mamas tip:
1. When your child gets about 3+ years old, teach them how to lock/unlock the door. Their fingers and hands should be strong and skillful enough now to learn how to turn a key. Reason for this is not so they can flee like a refugee, but rather for emergency cases like you pengsan (faint) and they need to let the paramedics in :)
2. When they can open the door:

• tell them when they are allowed to open it and to whom and for what.
• teach them to close and lock it at all times (you'll hear yourself repeating this for a few years). Children are so innocent that they don't know how evil lurks out there. I keep reminding my children how open doors may just be an open invitation to unwelcome visitors. I tell them about the knives or guns these people might have and their intention to steal things or to harm us. Not that I want to scare them (well... maybe a little) but they need to learn that there are consequences to their actions.
  

3. Oh, and one more thing, make sure they know not to leave the keys in the keyhole or anywhere near the door after they lock it (this is if you have a grilled door).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARINA

Okay, here is my Happy Birthday Karina scrap. Sorry dear girl, Mommy is a few days late. The birthday was really simple. My birthday tradition for my children is I take them to the store and give them RM5 to spend on whatever they like, plus we cook whatever they request. Oh, I also promise a birthday outing but have to put that on hold for a while. As usual, money will be spent on junk food. Food request this time was Roast Chicken and Mash Potatoes.

So, what is a 6 year old Karina like?

• She is good at making Baby D laugh. Loves to carry him and will hug and kiss him goodnight every night.
• Good at reading.
  
• Is very helpful IF she wants to be
• She is very tall (that's what people say) -- 4 ft
  
• Barbie fan
• Wants to be a police when she grows up (in case her postman brother turns bad, she can put him in jail. Aiyoh!)
• Loves to cycle and have lots of energy to spend outdoors.
• Talks and scolds like her mother. Sometimes you'd think she was the mother. Hahaha.

Mamas tip:
If you want to make your own birthday cake and frost it, here is an icing recipe that worked for me:

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs milk

I'm no pro at cake decoration like Mama Min, but my children are also easy to please. This time, I chose an orange color icing which actually makes the cake look bright and nice. Got some waffle flowers for easy deco.

For the cake, I bought the Betty Crocker Lemon cake mix. Yes, I'm a cheater :) But I really like the lemon cake mix. This is the second time I've made it. It's really nice and moist. As you can see, I also left the cake in the pan. That serves 2 purpose:

1. I don't have to ice the sides.
2. Easy to store the cake after eating.

Okay, that is all for my really amateur, cheapo cake baking-decoration effort.

Chinese Women Don't Like To Breastfeed?

Just want to share with you my little experience of taking baby D to the government clinic for checkup. The area I live in is primarily a Malay area. I am probably the only Chinese woman that takes her baby to this clinic for a checkup. Anyway, this is how the conversation has gone almost every time I'm there (I've been there 4 times already) :

Nurse: What do you feed baby?
Me: Breastmilk
Nurse: You breastfeed? No formula at all? (Sounding very surprised)
Me: No.
Nurse: Normally Chinese women don't like to breastfeed.
Then they will comment on how big, heavy, solid baby D is.

Anyway, I just wanted to know how "real" is this misconception among the public that Chinese women don't like to breastfeed? I was quite surprised to hear this statement because I know many Chinese moms out there who are breastfeeding. Or is our number so small that we are overshadowed by our Malay breastfeeding friends?

If this statement is true , what is it about the Malays that makes them more successful at breastfeeding? Or what is it about Chinese women that makes us less successful?
- culture?
- religion?
- upbringing?
- mind set?
And what about our Indian counterparts?

Do share your thoughts on this. It would be interesting to know if there was a difference in breastfeeding trends among the different races.

Mamas tip: BREASTMILK IS BEST!
(I know breastfeeding week is over. But this fact rings true throughout the year, and for centuries to come.)

Baby Milestones: 7 months

Everyday is a busy day now with baby roaming around the open spaces. He isn't yet crawling on all fours but rather crawls army style. But I'm sure he will 'upgrade' soon. He can pull himself into an 'all fours' position, rocks to and fro before lunging forward.
I call him my little 'octopus' because it seems like he has 8 hands. Plus everything goes into the mouth that is now sprouting 2 tiny but razor sharp teeth.

It is easier now that he can sit steadily. But he is not much of a sitter. He is always trying to pull himself into a standing position.

One thing I find rather amusing and amazing is how he 'gravitates' towards the playroom and to his siblings. When I put him down on the floor, he will crawl to the playroom, push the door open and invite himself in. He looks so contented just being in the room with his siblings making noise and havoc around him. Once in a while he will look my way and give a cheeky smile.

Mama's tip for 'octopus hands' babies:
1. Don't snatch things away from them. It is normal for us to sort of panic when we see them put dirty, inedible things in their mouth or when they grab something to the point of destruction. We yell 'NOOOOOO' and then try to snatch the thing away as quickly as we can. Make a conscious effort to 'nicely' tell baby that you want the thing e.g. "Baby, please give Mommy?" and then gently take it away. I find that when I do this, baby will usually ease up his grip. So if he's grabbed a piece of paper or a book, I am able to take it away without ripping it apart. Plus, baby will grow up not learning to snatch but rather be exposed to good manners. Now, I just have to train my little babysitters (his siblings) not to snatch things away from baby :)

To Quit or To Endure

I was reading about a mother's stressful experience getting her young child to study music. She expressed how her child would not sit still during the lesson, be disruptive or just plainly not listen to what's being taught. Getting the child to practice is another battle.

Reading about her experience I wondered, why not just call it quits in the music lesson? Seems like unnecessary stress to me.

But then I remembered a story related by my friend, on how she 'suffered' in pushing her uninterested, lazy son to learn music... and now her son is happy to have persevered as he makes a tidy sum giving violin lessons. However, she also has another daughter that was pushed to finish her piano lessons, and after finishing her grade 8, she didn't bother to touch the piano anymore.

So what kind of parent are you? Would you push your children to do something they didn't like?

Here are two sides to the argument:

1. You know it is good for them e.g. the acquisition of knowledge and skill, the discipline etc.... You are the parent and know better. They will thank you in the future. Suffer now but they will reap the benefits later. You want to teach them not to quit halfway, that they must finish what they start.
   
   
2. It is tooo stressful, for you and for them. You are tired of the screaming and the nagging. You wonder if you are doing the right thing by 'forcing' them to do something they don't like. You'd hate it if someone did the same to you. You don't want to create a hatred or aversion to learning. Plus, if they don't enjoy and have no interest in the activity, what are they actually learning?

I was fortunate to have parents that didn't push me to do things I didn't like. I too had taken piano lessons when younger but decided to quit after my grade 5 exam. I can still tinker on the piano. I admit I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to study music. If I was given a second chance, I still will quit at grade 5 :) Hahahahah.

I believe that many times, the decisions we make as parents are guided by the things we had or didn't have. For example, you didn't learn Mandarin when you were younger and regret now that you don't know how to speak the language, even though you are Chinese. Therefore, you make a vow that you will "make" your children learn Mandarin whether they like it or not.

Our past experiences makes us 'wiser' than our children, however it may also be a tool that can do a lot of damage. I'm sure you've heard of parents trying to live their dreams through their children? On one hand you are here to guide them but on the other hand, you also need to give them freedom to live their life.

Anyway, write in and let me know your views on this. Would you or wouldn't you push your child to do something that you think is important, but they think is 'boring', 'waste-of-time', 'uninteresting', 'not-my-cup-of-tea' etc.... When should you endure and when should you quit?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAMUS

This little nut of mine is 4 YEARS OLD! Happy Birthday babypoo.
The month of August is birthday month. In a couple of weeks it will be K's birthday. What does this mean? It's time for their Birthday blogs of course.

How do I describe Damus?

• Always smiling and laughing. You'd think he is in clown training school.
  
• Won't stand for nonsense, he will fight back
• Bandaids are a common sight. Shedding of blood does not deter his spirit - as long as there is a bandaid.
• Shoes... somehow gets on the wrong feet STILL. I'm beginning to think it's gonna be his trademark.
  
• Always ready with his kung fu to battle monsters and bad guys.
  
• Still mommy's boy. Always ready for a hug, kiss and cuddles.

Mama's tip for birthdays: Try not to cry as you both age a year older.

Tag Time Again

Time to once more catch up on my tags.

J@n!ce tagged me on 10 random things about MY MUM.
Here it goes:

1. My mom joined a beauty pageant when she was a teenager (I think, not sure how old, or rather young she was), and got third place. That picture is somewhere in the photo album.
2. My mom still plays golf in the mornings and sometimes, line dancing after. Yes, still very active. Not sure if it's polite to tell you her age but here's a hint, she is born in the year of the snake.
3. She used to play badminton for the Tunku Ampuan of Negeri Sembilan team. I remember going with her on a badminton tourney trip to Terengganu. They had chartered a bus and we were suppose to stop to see the turtles at Rantau Panjang but it rained :(
4. My mom is a pro-mahjung player (but she don't like to play the type with jokers). She says she has stopped playing but she's said that many times in this life time. Hahahah. Sure you can stop ah mommy?
5. She don't like western food. She's a "char kway teow-hokkien mee" type of person.
6. She was a primary school teacher. I know she taught English and music. Not sure if she taught any other subjects. I asked her just the other night if she had taught me how to read. She said "no". Apalah Mommy, you are an English teacher but never teach me how to read? Hahahah.
7. She has a D24 durian tree that has been fruiting very nice durians the last few years. All her neighbours and friends benefit from her generosity. Including me lah :)
8. As a baby, she was given away to her aunt as there were a lot of girls already in the family. So her aunt became her mother and her mother became her aunt. Aiyoh, pening kepala when we visit relatives from her side. We are always asking "real relative or not real (as in adopted) relative"?
9. She can play the piano without notes. She taught her ownself how to play and plays by ear.
10. She loves gardening. Her garden is full of flowers.

I tag:
1. Mom2Ashley
2. Mia Bambina
3. Tracy

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Next tag is from The New Parent. He wants to know what I'll do with $1000000 (One Million Dollars)?
IFFFFF I had that kind of money, of course I will do the normal of investing to generate more income, invest in my children's future, upgrade the house and car, donate to charity etc....
BUT the one thing I think would be kewl to do is to open a dinosaur themed restaurant with a not-to-be-missed gigantic play area. YEAH! If anybody actually do this ah, better pay me some sort of fees okay. I'm gonna copyright this idea. Come to think of it... I think $1000000 is not enough leh.

I tag:
1. Faye
2. Lyanne
3. KarenYiau
4. Mommy of 2 Angels
5. Hui Sia

Rules of Engagement:
Proposition: If You Have $1,000,000.00…………………………………

Requirements:
1st - Tag 5 bloggers, list down their blog and link to their blog.
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they have been tagged by commenting on their blog.
3rd - Add your own blog link to the list below.

What They Would Do With Their $1 Million:
1. SYH will spend for Family.
2. Miche will give to the needy.
3. Montessorimum will keepsake
4. Healthfreakmommy will keep, invest, spend and give to the needy.
5. The New Parent would use for education and charity.
6. Mamas Bag of Tricks would open a dinosaur themed restaurant

Song for Wheezing and Coughing Children

My children are coming down with a cold. This song I found called "Cover Your Mouth and turn Your Head" seems very appropriate for the occasion. It's a very cute song that will help your children learn hygiene and manners.

Gift Voucher RM30 To Be Won

Just to let ya'll know that my bookshop is running a contest for this month. It's the Merdeka month plus my kids' birthdays. So the contest is our way of celebrating.
To enter the contest, all you have to do is add a caption to the picture below. Submit your answers as a comment at the contest post at the bookshop's blog.

Let's see if the mommies/daddies imagination is still alive.
Of course the judge of the contest are my kids. They will decide who is the wittiest of the lot.
Contest ends 31 August 2007.

Do spread the word around. Thanks.

Complain, complain, complain

Welcome to the customer service department. Feel free to unload all grouses. Even if we do not speak your language, we promise to show empathy and lend a listening ear. We do not discriminate against babies. In fact, they are our favorite customers.
The above video is an example to show you what I say is true.

Translation of the above conversation:
Baby: What kind of management is this? No service at all.
Me: You are not happy with our service?
Baby: Of course not. I am suppose to be carried.
Me: You need to go somewhere?
Baby: I always need to go somewhere. You know I can't walk yet. You expect me to fly like this?
Me: We will try to do better sir.

Mamas tip:

• Enjoy your babies babbling because when you know what they are saying, it's not quite as fun anymore.
• Don't think babies can't have conversations. Talk to them often.
  
• Don't scold and nag in front of baby too much. See what he's picked up from me? :)
  

Humor in the Home

During our homeschooling with K, I thought I'd give her something fun. I found this book called Imagination Works! (Grades 3-6) that gives exercises to promote imagination. And I chose to do this:

Assignment = What did the dog say to make the doctor laugh?
Here's the conversation:

Me: So, what funny thing can a dog say to a doctor?
K: I am sick.
Me: That's not funny.
K: How about, there is a boy carrying a tree across the road. Is that funny?
Me: No.
K: Mmmm... you are a dog. Is that funny?
Me: No. How is that funny? Sounds more like an insult.
K: I don't know.
Me: You are so clever to use your imagination when you play. Use your imagination now lah.
K: Everything is funny to children. But not everything is funny to adults.
Me: Hahahahah. Now that is funny.

So, this has turned out to be a lesson for mommy instead -- Everything is funny to children. But not everything is funny to adults.

I tried to explain what is funny by giving her an example, AND I couldn't even think of a joke! Alamak. Where has the humor gone in this family??? No wonder she can't think of anything funny. She has not been exposed to "funnies." Everyday is scold, scold, scold, scream, scream, scream. Sigh!

Mamas tips:
1. Don't forget to practice some humor in the home.
2. Teach your children how to tell good jokes.
3. When you come across something funny, explain why its funny. They might not get it.
4. Watch Mr. Bean (but make sure they don't emulate him).
5. Read funny comic strips together. Maybe put them up on the fridge too.
6. Next time you buy them a book, get one that is funny.

Rocking Girl Blogger Award

Mumsgather and Anggie's Journal graciously presented me with this award. Backache like crazy but looks like I'm rockin' in other ways. Heheheh.

I'm to pass this badge on but I think many super-duper fantastico ladies out there already been given this. So I must dig deeper. I give this badge to:

1. J@n!ce
2. Momofcairo
3. Big Pumpkin
4. Blur Mommy

Cooking Lessons

I've always had my kids help me whenever I bake cakes or muffins. But I decided to give K a go at cooking a dish all by herself. Scrambled eggs seemed easy enough. I let her do everything -- cracking the eggs, putting the seasoning, beating the eggs, turning on the gas, putting the oil, pouring in the eggs, scrambling it and dishing it out. I just stood watch and played the boss barking out orders. The pictures I took above is actually her second time cooking eggs. First time must pay more attention to teaching and making sure no one gets hurt (including the eggs) instead of taking pictures you know.
Well, now she wants to be the official egg scrambler in the house. I have no objections. What she doesn't know is that this is mommy's sinister plan of having her take over all cooking tasks in the future so mommy will have more time to blog. MUAHAHAHA. Just kidding.

I think apart from scrambled eggs, other essential beginning cooking lessons are:
1. How to cook rice
2. How to cook instant noodles
3. Cooking sausages (the Americans call them hotdogs)

With these 4 lessons, I think they are saved from starvation.

What was the first thing you learned how to cook? For me it was cooking rice. I remember my amah would make sure I didn't wash it too many times (or else all the vitamins will be gone). Then how to measure the water. I remember one time she commented on how nice the rice turned out. Wah, felt so proud about it. But I also remember she didn't trust me to cook the fish. I knew that I knew how. But she took the opportunity away from me and did it herself. I remember thinking in my head "how am I going to learn if you don't let me cook?"

Mama's tips:
1. Encourage your child to learn living skills - don't chase them out of the kitchen.
2. Trust them... even though you don't.
3. Once in a while, let go of your need to shelter them (or do everything for them). Give them room to learn and grow.
4. Eat their cooking even if it's a bit flawed (yes, a BIT flawed, not plenty flawed to the point of giving you food poisoning). My kids would eat all my less-than-perfect baking like it was the best thing they ever had. So it's only right that I return the favour.

SAHM or FTWM tag

I was tagged by The New Parent on whether I would choose to be a SAHM (Stay-at-home-mom) or FTWM (Full-time-working-mom). Let me include the rules to this tag first.

Here are the rules:
1. If you are given a choice, SAHM or FTWM? Give at least 3 reasons.
2. Include your name in the thread below.
3. Tag 3 other people.

List:
1. Immomsdaughter prefers to be a SAHM
2. Miche prefers to be a SAHM.
3. Msau prefers to be a PTWM.
4. Everydayhealy prefers to be a SAHM.
5. Jazzmint prefers FTWM.
6. Cheryl prefers to be a FTWM but will consider SAHM.
7. Mom of Cairo prefers to be a PTWM.
8. The New Parent is a WSMWTMC (but would like to be a PTWD).
9. Lian choose to be a SAHM

My choice would be... SAHM
And that is what I am now. Why?
1. Don't have to go crazy fighting traffic jams everyday.

2. Don't have to go hunting for the right babysitter/daycare and then worrying if they are okay, or if they are exposed to negative influences, or if they are getting the right kind of stimulation, or if they are being disciplined the right way, or if they being instilled with the right kind of values. By staying at home with my kids, I take full responsibility on how they grow up. In this crazy world today, it is vital for mothers to be in the home.

3. Still referring to babysitter/daycare, I think it puts a damper on how many children you can have. If you have one, it's still okay on your pocket. If you start to have 2 or 3, then it starts to get expensive. By staying at home, I don't have to limit the number of children I have according to how much I can pay a babysitter/daycare. Also, kindergarten is expensive. By staying at home, I can homeschool my kids. Kindergarten level -- I can still handle. Teaching calculas -- maybe I'll think twice :)
What I'm saying is, by choosing to be a SAHM, my choice of how many children I want to have is not influenced by money issue. I believe having children don't have to be expensive. It only gets expensive if you make it so and choose all the "must-haves". Some of you may think, "wah, it must be crazy with 3 kids now." Actually, let me tell you, it's not so bad la. You might not think you can handle it, but when the situation presents itself, YOU CAN. Of course this doesn't mean I'm planning to have 8 kids!!! Hehehehe.

Being a SAHM is definitely an adjustment. Plus, it depends on your attitude and what you value in life. For me, I want my children to know that anytime they come home and yell "Mom?", they will get an answer "Yes, what do you want?" Children need that kind of security. As long as I am able to give that to them, I will.

Of course, if you really need to earn a little extra cash, there is the option of being a WAHM (Work at Home Mom). That's why I have my little bookshop. So, come and support me okay?

Now this tag is passed onto:
1. Big Pumpkin (because I love your writing)
2. Hui Sia
3. Health Freak Mommy

Baby Milestones: 6 months

1/2 years old already. My, my, my... time has gone by quickly. Let's take a quick look at what BabyD has been up to:

• The discovery of feet.
  At first he would just grab and play with it. Now it's considered a food item, just like all the other things he grabs. He makes it look like it's so yummy. Maybe I should have a try too. Baby's feet that is, not my own feet lah. Don't you wish you were still that flexible?
  
• Mastered the art of turning.
  He is wayyyy more active now. He turns so effortlessly onto his tummy and back again.
  
• Octopus hands.
  Grabs everything in his sight... and so quickly too, much to the distress of dear mommy.
  
• Inch-ing like a caterpillar.
  He is always on a lookout for something to grab. He is so adamant that he can actually move his butt inch by inch towards the object of his focus. Really like a caterpillar that wriggles and lifts the butt to push himself forward. This activity is often turned into a form of entertainment for us dear parents as we put things just out of his reach for him to grab. Kinda like a donkey with a carrot in front. I'm sure we will grow to regret our motivating him to reach out for things. It's like encouraging an octopus to grow more hands. But it's okay. We'll sacrifice our sanity for the sake of development :)
  
• The making of U-hu glue.
  He is entering into the stick-to-mommy phase. When someone else is carrying him, he will constantly check to see where I am. If I am nearby, he will sound his signal that time's up and that he needs to return to the comfort of my arms.
  
• Apprentice in training.
  Baby is always observing what his siblings are up to. His eyes are fixed on them and you can really see him just taking it all in. Scary! You won't believe it but he will sometimes call for his siblings. He will cry when they suddenly leave his presence and be pacified when they return again.
  

Time-Out Box

Fed up of seeing 'barang-barang' (things) left on the floor? I AM!

Really tiring to always repeatedly tell the kids to NOT leave things on the floor, to put their things back where they belong. I even tried the soft approach; cooking up a story about how their things have a home, like how they have a home. And that the things need to 'go home'. How would they feel if one day mommy took them out and forgot to bring them home? Well, that's how their things feel. Nice story eh? But not effective.

To always pick the things up for them would be to spoil them. To collect the things and throw them away would be cruel and also not economical. So, I decided to come up with THE TIME-OUT BOX.

The Time-Out Box is the home for all 'homeless' things. The box I use is quite big because it has to accommodate badminton racquets. The ideal 'treatment' would be to just pick things up and put them in the box. But I still have a soft spot and give warnings before I do a sweep for things.

How to redeem? Well, I have a chart to record down the days they give me 'good attitude' during study time. Every 'good day' earns a smiley face. For every smiley face, they get to redeem one item from the Time-Out Box. Of course you can set up your own conditions. It could be every kind act or every time they clean-up their plate. In a way, you get to reinforce two behaviors at one go; kill two birds with one stone sort of thing.

Okay, that's my latest trick.

How To Eat Spicy Food

We've been trying to teach our children to eat spicy food. Only one, so far, seems to have inherited this trait from the father - KokoD. Jiejie K is like me -- can't take so much spicyness.

Mamas tips on how to eat spicy food:

1. Eat, DRINK, eat, DRINK, eat, DRINK some more :)
2. Don't scare your child or make it sound like something negative. We are always trying to protect our children. So when there is any spicy food, we automatically sound the warning "*Lat-lat ah. Eat this one instead (give something non-spicy)". Psychologically we already train them to stay away from spicy food. Instead we should encourage them to try. Of course warn them of the spicyness, but don't turn them off e.g. "This is a little spicy, wanna try? I have some water ready."
3. Don't give up on your first try. If they don't like it this time, maybe try again another time. My kids, at first, didn't want to eat the curry chicken we cooked. Only after many attempts at introducing it did they venture to try. Now they love it.

*Lat-lat means hot-hot in chinese