Vegetable Brain?

I managed to get Karina to sit down and do some studying without fuss or distractions yesterday and today. We sat down and did some English, some Maths and also learned how to tell time. All because of an out of the blue comment I made. As usual, Karina would be a little hesitant when I mention that it's "school" time. She would rather be playing.

Mommy: If you don't do your work, you will end up with a vegetable brain.
Karina: What is a vegetable brain?
Mommy: You know like a rotten vegetable? What do we do with rotten vegetables?
Karina: Throw away.
Mommy: Yup, that's right. If you don't exercise your brain, it will end up like a rotten vegetable.
Karina: Hahahaha. Mommy, that is so funny.

(While doing work)
Karina: See mom, I'm exercising my brain.

Things I Love When I Have Morning Sickness

There are many things to hate when one is down with morning sickness. But instead of dwelling on the negatives, I'd like to list some of the positives I've encountered.

THINGS I LOVE WHEN I HAVE MORNING SICKNESS:

1. A darling husband who is ever willing to cook me porridge coz' I can't eat anything else.
2. He also picks up where I fail like preparing meals for the kids and sometimes bathing them.
3. He doesn't demand or complain about the neglected housework.
4. He understands when I lie in bed almost the whole day coz' that is all I can do with the strength I have.
5. A fantastic FIL who cooks potato chips for me just because of a fleeting crave.
6. A cute son who hugs me when I feel cold and says "Mommy, I keep you warm."
7. A loving daughter who understands that Mommy feels sick so she bathes herself and also her brother. She also says "Mommy, I will try not to disturb you."
8. Listening to your children pray "Dear Heavenly Father, please help Mommy not feel sick."

I'm so glad my children get to see how wonderful their father is. He is not afraid to help with the housework or care for the children. To end, I would like to share a saying that goes like this:

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

Brain Exercises for Preschoolers

Looking for new stuff to entertain your children? Well, here are some stuff I found that my kids like. Fortunately, they don't know it's educational too. Hahahah.

1. Mazes by Cartoon Critters
2. Mazes by Krazydad - There are 5 levels of difficulty to choose from.
3. Mazes by Print Activities - As they say, mazes are "excellent for developing kids small motor skills and spacial perception skills".
4. Brain Games - Especially like the one where you get to control the traffic lights. See if you can avoid causing a jam.

Mimosa Pudica Fun

This morning sickness has not been good for my blogging. When the energy level is down, it's difficult to sit in front of the computer and think. But I think my poor blog is due for an update.

Well, just to share our newest discovery. While playing in a nearby park, I noticed the many Mimosa Pudica around the area. Of course growing up I called them "Touch-Me-Nots" or in Bahasa Malaysia, "Pokok Semalu". You know, those thorny little plants that close their leaves when you touch them? Anyway, I realized my children had not been introduced to this wonder and so I rallied them round and showed them the magic of this plant. Now our walks in the evening is not just about getting some fresh air, but also to spot and play with the many Mimosa Pudica along the roadside. I must say, it does keep them occupied for a while.

And while posting this blog, I learned that this plant even have medicinal values. So the next time you see a Mimosa Pudica, don't just think it's a pesky thorny plant. There is more than meets the eye.
1. Khasiat Pokok Semalu Untuk Wanita (sorry this is in Bahasa Malaysia).
2. Some medical data.

Love-ometer

How do you stop sibling rivalry? What do you do when your kids bicker at each other, breathe out threats, whine, complain, fight, pout, yell, tease, hit, scold etc...? Have you ever found yourself lost, confused and helpless at those moments when they turn to you to play judge? I know I have.
Of course, after reading plenty of parenting books and articles, you know that it is absolutely essential that you never play judge. Taking sides is a big NO-NO because usually the one you thought innocent, isn't completely innocent. There is always a side of the story that you never got to see or hear. Parents are advised to help the siblings solve their own problems. Yeah, but how? Especially when you are talking about siblings below the age of 5? Well, here are my two ways:

• I put both of them on the bench (similar to time-out). They both have to sit facing each other. They get off when they have both decided to make up and be friends again.
  It's usually the older one that will start initiating the peace talks cuz' they want to get off.
• Use the Love-ometer.
  What's that? Well, I got the idea when I came across something written by a Sunday School teacher on how she managed to get her young kids to be reverent in her class. She had some sort of chart that would show the reverence level in the class. She didn't have to yell or shout. If the class got to noisy and chaotic, the reverence chart would be adjusted accordingly.
  So I took that idea and taught my children that our home has a love-ometer (like a thermometer). When we do and say kind things, the love goes up. When we fight, quarrel, tease and say mean things, the love goes down. When there's plenty of love in the house, everyone is happy. But when the love goes down, the monsters all come out, especially Monster Mommy. And every kid will tell you that they really don't like it when Monster Mommy takes over their real Mommy.
  So when the contention gets to high in my home, the children are reminded about the love-ometer. If the love level gets to low, they have to start doing things that will help push the love back up again e.g. saying sorry, sharing etc....

I was planning to do a craft on the love-ometer. Unfortunately I'm not to crafty and have yet to get it done. But even then, my invisible love-ometer seems to be pretty effective.

Look Out For The Impromptu Lessons

My excitement of being pregnant has been washed away by the daily discomfort of nauseousness, tiredness and headaches. My poor kids have been the victims of neglect. But they have also been very understanding. I hope they don't start to dislike baby. My son told me one afternoon “throw baby away because baby make you sick.” Sweet but a bit worrying.

Anyway, I feel quite guilty coz' I haven't been diligent in teaching them. Yes, they are going to “Mummy's School” for the time being. However, this has made me more alert in catching those “impromptu” lessons. Here are 2 examples:

• Decided to go for a walk one night to ease off the discomforts. The streetlights were on casting shadows on the road. My girl comments “Hey, my shadow is almost as tall as yours.” (Blink, blink, lights go off in my head). We had an enjoyable discovery session about “shadows”. Here were some of the questions we explored:
  1. What makes the shadows? Light. Where there were no light, there were no shadows.
  2. How do you make it grow so small that it's right under your feet? Stand directly underneath the lightbulb.
  3. When is the shadow on our left / right / front / back?
  4. Does your shadow look like you? And does it do what you do?
  
• Pointing to an envelope while introducing the letter sound /e/ to my son. Although an ordinary object, I suddenly wondered if he really knew what an envelope was for. I then talked about writing letters, putting stamps, writing the name and address on the envelope, posting it at the post office, and our friend the postman who delivers the letters. The children seemed pretty intrigued and now our project is to test if the system works. So, they decided they want to write to Grandma and see if she will really get the “envelope.”

So I guess the point of this blog is to remember that lessons are not only found in books. Let us not confine our children's learning to a desk. Life itself is full of lessons. We just have to awaken our senses to things that have become “ordinary” to us because to them, it may not be that "ordinary" afterall.

Teeheehee... Could This Be No.3?

I have the symptoms... missed period, chilly, tired. And today, the food don't smell so good anymore. Did my own testing and that came out positive. The only thing I don't have is a doctor's confirmation. But I'm 99% sure.

Well, some people like to keep these things quiet. They don't like to tell people until they are like 4-5 months pregnant. Some fear that something unpleasant will happen if they tell people before 3 months is up. I'm not like that. Once I know, I feel like shouting out to the whole world. It's such wonderful and exciting news. Well, that's me.

So, ready or not, number 3 seems to be on it's way. Here I go again!

Froggy Update

Some people have been wondering what have become of my tadpoles. Well, half way through my moving house, two of the tadpoles decided to mature into frogs. It happened rather quickly after they developed 4 legs.

After I had moved into the current house, there was another tadpole on his way to becoming a froggy. He was getting pretty close but ended up dead one morning. Don't know what happened. I wonder if he drowned as I added a little bit of water to the tank the day before. Not too much but I guess it may have been too much for him. How sad!

It's interesting how when we caught the tadpoles, I thought they were all going to turn into frogs and the same time. But it looks like they take turns -- only one or two mature at a time. Now I have another two with legs and the rest... they look like they are happy being tadpoles.

Getting Kids to Like Spicy Food

The other day we decided not to cook but to get our dinner from the pasar malam. It was unfortunate that most of the food were spicy and my oldest girl wasn't very happy with what we brought home. This brings me to the question of "How do you get your kids to take spicy food?"

I myself grew up not taking too much spicy food. My only experience with chilli was the "nasi lemak" I bought during recess break at the school canteen. Even then I had to extinguish the fire with lots of cold water. I'm much better now when it comes to spicy food. That much I owe to my DH and FIL who are the "cannot-live-without-chilli" kind.

Anyway, on a trip to Hong Kong a few years ago, we shared an apartment with an Indian family. Their little girl who is the same age with my daughter happily helped herself to Curry Maggi Mee. If I'm not mistaken, most Malay and Indian families cook spicy food most of the time. How did they get their children to take spicy food? Did they adopt an "eat it or leave it" attitude?

As mentioned before, my daughter is not a big fan of spicy food. My son however, seems to have inherit his father's genes and is able to handle the taste. He wanted to try Asam Laksa and we let him. Surprisingly he came back for more. Sometimes during church occasions someone cooks some spicy noodle. He doesn't mind it. Today we had ladies fingers (okra) cooked in sambal. That was his favorite dish.

So I wonder, is eating spicy food something you learn to acquire or is it a "either you have it or don't have it" sort of thing? What do you guys do with your kids on this issue?

p.s.: By the way, I finally found my putu piring which I desperately looked for during the puasa month but failed to obtain.

Back Online

Finally, the moving house saga is over. It was a crazy week mixed along with a touch of bad luck. Not only had I to deal with lots of packing but also had to stress over hitting a motorbike. To add to the stress, I also managed to leave my house keys in my mom's car and she drove home to Seremban with it (that's about an hours drive away). I'm definitely glad to put it behind me. Looking forward to experiencing rainbows after the rain.

I know many people have lots of tips on moving house. This is mine (warning: this may apply to Malaysians only):

• When looking to hire wiremen, aircond contractors, grill makers, plumbers and whatsoever, do not drive around looking for their shop. Instead, pay attention to tree trunks, lamp posts or whatever fixture you can find along the roads as that is where they stick their advertisements.
• Also, the usually irritating little flyers and name cards they stick in your mailbox, do come in handy at this time.
• When you make an appointment with telekom to install your telephone line, be ready for them NOT to turn up. Insists on getting the contractor's number so you can call him direct. In my case, the contractor didn't turn up for the appointment because he didn't get the order in the first place. It took me 4 days to get my phone line up and another 4 days for the broadband to work.
  Moral of the story: If you can't live without your internet, better have a Plan B e.g. make sure you know where the nearest internet cafe is located.

Well, the kids look like they have adjusted well. This area has many young families and so they are quite a lot of kids their age. However, this is a Malay community and my kids have yet to speak Bahasa Malaysia. But amazingly, language is no barrier when you want to have fun and have a desire to make friends. My daughter didn't understand what the girl next door was saying but they were running around and having a good time.

Anyway, it's great to be online again. Life resumes to it's normal mode.

Bebereviews.com

Just want to quickly introduce everyone to a wonderful site for parents: http://bebereviews.com
More so for parents in the U.S. as I doubt we get such fantastic, creative children products here in Malaysia. But it's great education to what's available out there. Below is their introduction:
"A weekly e-magazine about the latest & greatest products for your child. Plus, read articles geared towards caring for your child, recipes, health tips, & more all right here!"

They now have a new column called Daily Scoop. It's a daily column where you will find celebrity mommy gossip, coupon codes, discounts, special sales and more!

Oh yes! One last thing. You can also add yourself to their Mommy Blogosphere. Just go to this link:
http://www.bebereviews.com/blog_directory.htm

Enjoy!

Update On My Tadpoles

My tadpoles are still alive. I've been waiting for their legs to emerge and it seems like it never will. Finally today, I saw some hind legs on one tadpole. Yes, only one has legs. It is very faint but it is there. Woohoo!


Related post:
We Have Tadpoles

Moving House Blues

No thanks to the mini landslide that is happening beside my house, my family has decided to relocate. There use to be squatter houses next to us but that has given way to the construction of low cost flats. They dug away the earth without putting retention walls and now with the constant rain, the earth has eroded resulting in the small road beside my front neighbour's house and my house to give way. Of course now they are working on it. But damage has been done already.

The photos above where taken from my front gate. As you can see, they have put up barriers at the end of the road. It really is a hassle getting the car out of my house now. I have to back into my front neighbour's gate to get out.

Well, anyhow, we have found a place to stay at Puncak Alam. It is new territory to me. Feels a bit scary to venture to a non-familiar place, learning where to get things and probably getting lost as I try to find my way around. But in a small way, there is also a bit of excitement and sense of adventure. Of course I will miss my beloved Petaling Jaya. The area in Puncak Alam is not yet as developed. Just have to be patient and wait for everything to mushroom around the area.

Unfortunately after the decision to move comes the headache of actually packing, moving, cleaning, transferring .... I know many out there have vast experience. I do appreciate whatever feedback you can offer. No we will not be hiring professional movers. Cutting cost is a family priority now. Anyone in PJ area that can donate boxes to me?

Moving checklists that may be of interest:
1. http://www.packnmove.co.uk/moving_house_checklist.html
2. http://www.ourfamilyplace.com/homebuyer/moving.html

A Fruit Salad Bowl of Lessons

"One final thing. I'll just cut up the fruits for the salad and then I'll sit down and spend time with the kids." This was what I was thinking after spending the whole morning doing household chores. My poor kids were entertaining themselves in front of the T.V. waiting for Mommy. And then an idea struck me -- why not let them come sit with me while I cut up the fruits. We'll make things up as we go along.

So the kids happily gathered round Mommy and the lessons began:

1. How many mangoes are there? How many apples are there? How many altogether?
2. Ok, Mommy is taking one apple away to cut. How many left?
   Now I'm taking another one. 4 apples take away 1 is ...?
3. See, you put the cut apples in salt water so the apples don't turn brown. If you leave the cut apples exposed to air, they turn brown.
4. What is the name of this fruit? Winter Melon. And what about that one? Yes, strawberries.
5. How many boxes of strawberries? What do they taste like? Sweet, sour or salty? What color are they?
6. Look at the mangoes. What color are they on the outside? What color are they on the inside?
7. Ok, I will let you help me cut. But must be careful with the knife ok. Cut it into cubes like this. This is called what? CUBES. Well done.
8. What about this fruit? What is this? KIWI. Do you know where kiwis come from? They can't grow in Malaysia. They come all the way from New Zealand. What do they taste like?
9. All done now. Do you remember what fruits we used? How many fruits altogether?
10. Which one did we cut first? Second? Third? etc....

It was really a delightful time. The kids enjoyed the "bonding" time and of course we got to treat ourselves to yummy nutritious fruits. Not forgetting Mommy managed to squeeze in some math, science and geography lessons. It made me think how many times I may have missed out on opportunities like this. More often than not we get bogged down with our work, that we become shortsighted to the real life lessons awaiting our children if only we include them in the work.

Read Aloud With Gusto!

I'm going to assume that most of you reading this blog know about Donald Trump's reality show "The Apprentice." If you don't, it's ok. I just want to mention that in one episode as he was giving some business tips, he ended with this statement "Do it with Gusto."

I like that statement and I would like to take it and apply it to reading aloud to children. Yes, read aloud to children with GUSTO! What does that mean? It means do more than just read. Captivate them with your use of voice variations, facial expressions, and gestures. Engage them with repetitive phrases and questions. Make the story come alive for them.

I must admit that one has to be "in the mood" to be able to pull this off. So do try to put away your worries for 15 minutes and let go of your inhibitions. Don't be afraid of being silly in front of your kids. It's the silliness they crave for. It's your exaggeration and enthusiasm that will foster their love for reading.

I found it very humorous the other day when during my reading session with the kids, my 2 1/2 year old toddler declared that he would read to me instead that night. He flipped open the book, referred to the familiar pictures, pointed to the words and pretended to read. Of course he couldn't read the words. He used his own words instead but made it seem like that was what was written. And what was hilarious was that he was using different voices to portray the different characters. Oh, kids are such good copycats. Which goes to show that reading aloud with GUSTO is how they would like us to read.

You don't need special training. You just need to enjoy the story and awake the sleeping actor/actress within you. Remember, to read with GUSTO, just let loose, be silly, get into character and dive into the story with enthusiasm.

We Have Tadpoles

It's been raining quite a bit lately. And so while many people are cursing the rain because of traffic jams and floods, the frogs have been happily spawning. What a great time for a Science Lesson! So off we went with our plastic cups and a RM3 plastic aquarium to Taman Aman. Thank goodness not all the puddles were dried up. The kids tried to scoop up every tadpole they could see. Poor Mom had to keep reminding them, "we REALLY, REALLY don't need that many frogs!"
Well, we get home with our new "pets" and it hits me, "what do tadpoles eat?" Looks like it's turning out to be more of a science lesson for Mom then for the kids. So I had to do a little bit of research and found out they could feed on goldfish flakes. Yay! I already had that available, so no sweat. But then their diet will eventually change and that part, I haven't figured out yet.
Also, as they morph, they will need less water and a place to crawl out of the water. So Damus and I went back to the park the next morning in search of stones and some sticks. Hopefully, that will do the trick. The science lesson is still in progress. Let's see if we manage to rear some hoppers. Stay tune for the results.

In the meantime, you might be interested on doing some extra reading. You know, just in case you come across some tadpoles and decide to host a REAL LIFE science lesson too.
1. How To Raise Tadpoles
2. Dealing With Tadpoles
3. Toad and Frog Tadpoles

Do Lazy Parents Make For Independant Children?

I admit I'm NOT one of those moms who would do everything for a child. Especially when I know they can do it for themselves. Here are a few examples:

1. I'm too lazy to pick up toys.
My rules regarding messes:
i. You mess, you clean.
ii. Things need to be picked up from the floor before going to bed or before leaving the house.
iii. You do something for me, I'll do something for you.
iv. If it resorts to me picking up the toys, it means you will not see them for a long time or they will end up in the rubbish bin.

Lately my daughter has been pretty good. She cleaned up her playroom yesterday without me even asking (it has been messy for days). Woohoo! Yesterday the kids wanted ice-cream and I cunningly told them that the ice cream says it won't come out until things were off the floor. In 5 minutes my floor was walkable again.
Of course for me to be "lazy" I also have to make the task easy for them e.g. shelves must be low enough, boxes/containers readily available, don't demand perfection etc....

2. I don't like to wait "forever" for my kids to finish their food.
Right from the beginning I swore never to be one of those parents who run after their children trying to get a spoonful of food in their mouths.

My rules regarding eating:
i. If you want me to feed, you stay close. You want to eat, you come to me not the other way around.
ii. If I have to wait like 15 minutes before you come take another bite, you feed yourself (remember, I'm talking about children who already acquired the skills).
iii. Good food must be finished before junk food or snacks are allowed. I will not entertain any request for "other" food if lunch or dinner was not finished. Hungry? Wait for the next meal.
iv. After eating, all plates, bowl, cups and utensils must be taken to the kitchen sink.

The kids really do their best to finish their food now. Of course I have to be reasonable and help them be good eaters. I have 2 strategies that has worked well for me:
i. Put less than what I expect them to eat. If they want more, then they can have a second helping. Psychologically they feel they are such good eaters. Boost their moral. Instead of scolding, scolding, scolding and reminding them how much food they waste I get to tell them what a good job they did.
ii. Get your own food. I now leave it to my older girl to get her own rice and choose what she wants to eat. BUT she must understand that she must finish what she takes. Of course she will leave out the veges. She takes after me. I too grew up not liking veges so I know how irritating it is for people to keep telling you to "eat your veges." So I either cut the veges up very small or make it up by giving them more fruits. No use trying to move a mountain. Just find other ways to get around it.

3. I'm too lazy to pack and carry their bags.
If we need to go somewhere and I know the kids need to be occupied, I always ask them to pack their bags. They decide what goes in but I do the last inspection. I put them in charge of getting their water bottles ready meaning look for it, check if there is enough water, if not bring it to me to be filled up. And yes, I'm too lazy to carry their bags. I already have my own things to carry.
My oldest girl had to learn a hard lesson today. She was dilly dallying getting ready for school this morning. I refused to pack her school bag even though it would hurry things up. I told her it's almost time to go and said her school bag is her responsibility. She, of course, had an attack of "excuse-itis" e.g. where is my water bottle, I cannot go into the room to get it, I want someone to turn on the light etc.... I just walked to the car, turned on the engine and waited for her. I know some of you may think that is cruel but I am reminded of a Tiger Woods story. As a youngster, he turned up at the golf club one day without his golf bag. He had expected his father to get it for him. His father in turn reminded him that that was his responsibility and to be a good golfer, he has to shoulder that responsibility

Ok, that's only 3 of my lazy things. So, do lazy parents make for independant children?

Tag Your Child Before They Get Lost

What would you do if you lost your child in the crowd? Do your children know what to do if they got lost in the crowd?
I've been pondering on these questions a bit lately. Today I took my kids to Petrosains and of course, being the school holidays they were lots of people. I was a bit worried as I knew I hadn't drilled enough safety procedures into my kids. Took the train (LRT) the other day with my kids and realized I hadn't briefed them on what to do if one of us got on/off and the other didn't. Had a quick lesson right then and there. Before any trip I make sure the kids are aware of the dangers of running off without me. Here are my two usual threats (I know I need to tone down on the threats and be more positive):

1. If you run off someone might grab you and take you home with them. Then you cannot see Mommy anymore.
2. If I can't find you I will have to go home without you ok?

My rule is that they must ALWAYS stay close or hold hands. But even then, we never know when mishaps happen. It usually takes a couple of seconds for them to get lost. Anyway, my worry is also due to the fact they my kids have yet to memorize my phone number or the house address. Thank goodness they at least know what their parents' names are. Yes, our names are not Mommy and Daddy.

I've been thinking of making an "Info Tag" for them to carry -- something that has my name, their name, my phone number and the house address etc.... Today I just scribbled my name and number on a piece of paper, put in their pockets and told my children to have someone call me if they get lost. But I think I need to make something more lasting and also add in information for the person that finds them.
Plus I need to also teach them who to approach. God forbid they approach the wrong person and end up in a worse situation (I shudder at the thought). Read in an article that it is best for children to approach other mothers that have children with them.

Well, I found this ID bracelet on the net. Looks kinda what I need. Unfortunately it's in the U.S. so I will have to stick with a homemade one.
Click here to view.

Managed to get hold of a copy of the Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers. Really a great book to teach a toddler about being wary of strangers. It's got lessons like don't take presents from strangers and never to anywhere with a stranger. My favorite is Mama Bear's analogy of the barrel of apples. She says that every barrel of apple has a few bad apples. So it is with strangers. Not all are bad but some are. So we have to be careful because of the few "bad apples". Plus you can't judge a person by its appearance. Like some of the apples had a weird shape but was good on the inside. Then she pulled out a good looking apple but had worms on the inside.
Was going to put the book for sale on my bookshop but my daughter got hold of it first. If you can't wait for me to find another copy, you can download the digital format.
Get it here!
The digital format is priced at USD 2.99. I think that is a fairly reasonable price and very worthwhile, don't you think?

Here are some interesting reading for you:
1. Don't Lost Your Child!
2. Preventing Abductions
3. Suggestions for Parents for Preventing the Abduction of Your Child

In the meantime, if you have some creative ways on how to make this "Child Info Tag", let me know.

Art on Balloons

I've heard many parents fret over children drawing on floors and walls. It definately is a headache to clean up (that is if it can be cleaned at all) but it just goes to show the zest of exploration in a child testing their new found skills on different textures. Well, here is a wonderful and acceptable way to encourage their love of drawing -- Art on Balloons! It was a spur of the moment thing that I happened to discover this wonderful activity. The kids wanted me to blow up balloons for them to play and I thought why not draw faces on the balloon to make it more fun. Well, the kids decided they wanted to draw on the balloons too. And let me tell you, they enjoyed it tremendously. So now whenever they get their hands on a balloon, they rush for the marker pens.
I wish I had taken pictures of their "masterpieces". Maybe next time. In the meantime, let your children create their own masterpieces.

Below are some interesting sites on children and drawing. I enjoyed reading the information there and know that many parents will benefit from the reading as well. Do check it out.

1. Drawing Encounters
2. Young in Art
3. Teaching Children to Draw

How I Got My Daughter To Make Her Bed

I have been trying to get my girl to make her bed in the morning but without success. It doesn't matter that she is only 4+ years old, I know she is capable of doing it. If she only had 1 pillow and 1 blanket I wouldn't mind so much. But she loves to surround herself with countless pillows and has 3 blankets. (Why she needs 3 blankets in this Malaysian climate I don't know.) So you just imagine the mess her bed is in. Oh, and not forgetting her resident soft toys too.
Well, as we were fooling around on the bed this evening, I decided to try the magic of storytelling. This is how it went:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who got a new bed from her parents. It was a beautiful bed and so very comfy. She loved it. Her mother gave her one pillow but that wasn't enough. She asked if she could have a few more and have mother said ok. She was given one blanket but she wanted more. Again her mother said ok. That night, the little girl slept very well with her soft toys, pillows and blanket.
The next morning, the girl woke up bright and cheery. She didn't cry. (My girl is not a morning person). She jumped out of bed and left her it in a mess. Well, guess who came? It was Mr. Cockroach. He just moved into the house and was looking for a good place to stay. He was searching and searching when suddenly... AHA! "I found it" he said. He saw the mess the little girl had left on the bed and decided it was a good place to stay.
Then guess who came along? It was Mr. Rat. He was looking for a place to rest. He looked and looked and he saw the little girl's messy bed. "Oooh, that looks like a good place to rest" said Mr. Rat.
Then guess who else came along? It was Mr. Centipede. He wondered "where can I find a messy place to hide?" He too saw the little girl's messy bed and decided that was where he wanted to be.

The next thing my girl said was "Mommy, can you help me fold my blanket? I can't do it myself. I take this side and you take that side and we fold it ok?"
Hahahahaha. Beats all my reminders and coaxing. Magic of stories! Unfortunately it had some side effects. As she was straightening up her bed, she was afraid to find cockroaches, rats or centipedes. Oh well, most medicines are bitter.