Willful and Defiant Child

Eversince Alycia attended pre-school, she has started to be really agressive, stubborn and uncontrollable. To begin with, she's already a very willful child. She speaks her own mind and is very headstrong. Lately, she's started to answer back when I scold her and is always defying my instructions. If she wants something, she must have it instantly - not later, otherwise she will throw herself into a fits of rage. It's frightening to see how a girl who's barely 4 yo behaving like a teenager - rebelling and arguing with her mother all the time. I just can't believe that such a pretty and cute toddler is so full of rage when her wimps and fancies are not met immediately. Partly, she's spoilt by her daddy and he is beginning to realize it.

Last night I had promised to bring the gals out to the park to blow bubbles. This morning I told the gals that I would only bring them to the park after they read a story book. Sherilyn obediently read not one but 4 Dr Seuss books but when I asked Alycia to read, she refused. "No, I only want to play bubbles. I don't want to read" and there she went, ranting and raving for almost half an hour. She was screaming and wailing and started to say nasty words like "you're not a good mummy, you go away, stop it, stupid mummy". No amount of coaxing, sweet talking, bribe or threats worked and finally, I had to use the whip. I told her that crying and behaving badly won't get her anything and tried to reason out with her but she wouldn't budge. After the whip, she finally came to her senses and stopped crying. She then came to me as I was reading to Sherilyn and began to listen as I read to Sherilyn. When I asked her to read the book, she began to read in a muffled voice. After reading, I finally took the gals out to the park to play.

When we came back, I told hubby what had happened. He was furious and asked Alycia to apologize to me. As stubborn as she is, she would not say sorry and began to cry again. Daddy then gave her a good lecture and some light whipping. Still, she didn't want to apologize and just bawled uncontrollably. We tried to explain to her that what she did and said were very wrong and rude. I asked her if she's going to say those nasty things to me again and she nodded her head and said "yes!" That's how stubborn and defiant she can get. Probably the whip wasn't painful at all. That infuriated daddy even more and he gave her another light whip on the buttock. More bawling followed and after a while, still sobbing and shaking, Alycia ran to me and tried to hug me. I asked her again if she's going to say those nasty things to me again and AGAIN she said "yes!" Unbelievable! Daddy gave out another light whip and that was followed by more bawling. Again she ran to me to hug me and I asked her the same question "are you going to say those things to mummy again?" and this time she said "no". When I asked her to apologize, finally the golden word "sorry" poured out slowly and softly from her quivering mouth. I then gave her a hug, wiped her smutty face and she continued to have breakfast. I really do not like the idea of using the cane all the time but with my 2 girls, the cane seem to have some 'positive' effects in disciplining them. I've tried the more humane, cultured method of reasoning but sadly that just didn't work for my gals, especially Alycia. I wish I had a better and more effective way of disciplining my gals.

Alycia's Favorite Channel

Everyone would have thought that Alycia's favorite TV channels are the ones on cartoons or animals but no, she loves Astro's channel 733 on Home and Health. She loves watching programs on babies, pregnancy and birth, plastic surgery, heart transplant, health and cosmetics. She even prefers this channel to Barney or High-5, also her favorites. She finds all the programs on channel 733 so fascinating and an eye-opener to her. I can't believe that she's even hooked on documentaries on heart transplant and lap-band surgeries! Oh well, I just hope this will garner her interest in the field of medical and propel her to study medicine to be a doctor some day! Mummy must be day-dreaming here, but then again, you never know eh?

Temptation Again

Of the 7 assignments that I had received from this particular advertiser, there was one whose product is on something that I do not really agree with and I would not really advise my friends to try it too. It is something that I wouldn't want my hubby or my kids to be involved in. As much as the temptation is there for me to just close one eye and just publish this post in my blog as I have no problem writing a post on it, afterall, it is USD5, after conversion it would be around RM17 wor, but my conscience wouldn't be clear if I had done it. So after much thoughts, I've released the offer back to the pool. I hope I'll receive some better offers soon.

Pan-fried Fish Cake

This is my all-time favorite dish - pan-fried fish paste / fish cake ('yue peng'). My hubby usually asks his cook to make the fish paste from 'kau yue' or mackeral fish or if she's busy, he'll buy them from the pasar malam. I normally use the fish paste to make fish balls to go with noodles or pan-fry them into fish cakes. I normally ask my maid to pan-fry a big batch and I will store them in batches in tiny air-tight containers in the freezer. When we're too busy to cook, my maid will defrost the fish cakes, make some anchovies soup and we will all eat meehoon with the fish cakes. My gals prefer this kind of simple meal than rice with dishes.

Varicose Veins

That's my thigh and the unsightly varicose veins that have been expanding as my pregnancy progresses. The veins started to appear when I was pregnant with Sherilyn. It only started to subside, but not completely gone after I had given birth. Now that I'm pregnant again, the veins are starting to expand again like roots to a tree and I can feel pain and heavy pressure at the site of the varicose veins whenever I stand. It's really ugly and I look like an ah soh with bulging varicose veins. I can forget about wearing mini skirts even after I've given birth. I know one of the ways to reduce the symptoms is to lie on my back and raise up my legs. I've been doing it for at least 15 minutes everyday but I can't see any improvement though.

I've read from the internet that if the problem gets way too serious, surgery can be opted to remove the veins, but purely for cosmetics reason. It's not a life threatening condition though. This condition is hereditary as my mum also has it. Anyone has any natural, safe and easy way of reducing the varicose veins to share?

Blessed With Wonderful Friends

I'd like to say thank you to two of my great blogging buddies for helping me today. This mummy has always been a great supporter of my blog from day one and I really appreciate that support shown. You should visit her blog too, it is awesome! I love her writing - she has such flair and great talent in her writing and I just love the way she thinks and her style of writing. This other mummy has also always been a great friend to me, always going all out to help me and I can feel her genuine warmth and sincerity though we have never met before, save for talking with her over the phone a number of times. I'm really blessed to have found such wonderful friends.

Tag : 5 of 5

Have been tagged by this mummy. I am to answer 5 questions with 5 answers to each question and tag 5 friends. Ok, here it goes :

5 things found in my room:- TV, VCD player, king-size bed, baby cot, a drawer filled with kids' books.

5 things I’ve always wanted to do:- Tour a country that I've never been to, relax in a spa, shop till I drop without having to worry about how much I'll be spending, donate more to charity, to be able to wake up after the sun is out without having to worry about the kids.

5 things found in my bag:- Wet wipes, wallet, antiseptic wipes (for wiping toilet seats), hair brush, packets of tissue papers

5 things found in my wallet:- Cash, medical insurance cards, credit cards, My Kid cards for the gals, my own My Kad

5 things I’m currently into:- Doing paid blogging (and loving it), 13th week of pregnancy, worry about my unborn baby, praying hard to God for a healthy and perfect baby, teaching my gals to read.

5 beautiful mummy to tag: Shern's mom, Sasha, Elaine, Barbara, Momibee

Nasonex Nasal Spray

Because of her sensitive and allergic nose, Alycia is now on 1 month of Nasonex nasal spray. It's a real battle every single night when it's time for me to spray this into her nose. A lot of power struggle is involved. I've tried coaxing, sweet-talking, hugging, kissing, bribing and threatening but nothing would make Alycia want to have this sprayed into her nostrils. She would run, hide under the covers, cover her face with her hands, toss and turn, kick and struggle to avoid me. My maid would help me to hold her body down whilst I would have to use my left knee to hold down her hands before pressing the spray into each side of her nostril at lightning speed, lest she kicks me on my tummy. Seconds later, she would cough and pretend to puke and I would quickly put the bin in front of her and force her to drink some water. She would then scream in defiance and demands for tissue paper to blow off the spray from her nose. Such is the battle scene in my room every single night. Last night, daddy sprayed for her but she puked after that. For those of you with kids on nasal spray too, do they put up such fuss too?

Smart Apparel At Affordable Prices

A person’s choice of clothes tells a lot about the person. What you wear and how you dress up can reveal your personality to a certain extent. If you hold a high level position in an organization but are always seen in skimpy clothes and clothes that do not project a professional image, I am sure you will not be taken seriously.

My former boss who held a very senior position in a large conglomerate was always in formal suits, smart ties and polished leather shoes. He takes great pride in his dressing and was also fastidious about what the staff wore to work, meetings and functions. He was a man who drew much respect from everyone and he carried himself with such debonair. Whenever he traveled to London for business trips, he would shop at The Savile Row Company for his formal shirts, suits, casual shirts, cufflinks and ties. Apart from buying designer brand clothes, my former boss had a special liking for clothes from The Savile Row Company as the clothes are made from high quality material with distinctively good quality and perfect workmanship.







With high quality apparel ranging from menswear and womenswear, The Savile Row Company is the perfect place for the corporate men and women to shop for smart apparel for all occasions at very affordable prices.

Am I Fabulous?

Someone thinks I am fabulous and has given me a Fabulous Award! I am really flattered and honored, thanks for the award Leena. I think you are a fabulous person too - pretty, smart and generous and you deserve the award.

I'd now like to pass this Fabulous Award to :

Elaine
Barbara
Chin Nee
Hui Sia
Anggie

Designer Brands At Smart Prices

I’ve a piece of good news to share with the fashionistas and fans of designer fashion and designer brands. You can now purchase from a wide range of designer clothes, designer handbags, designer shoes, jewellery and all things designer made at BIG discounts from this awesome website Koodos.com, the ultimate designer online store. For example, you can get the stylish Patrick Cox metallic shoulder bag (as shown in picture) at only 177 Pounds at Koodos, at a 40% savings and the funky, elegant Jimmy Choo leather boots shown in the picture here costs only 379 Pounds, at a huge savings of 44% off the original price!


At a fraction of the price, you can always grab some really nice items from famous brands such as Prada, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Chloe, Furla, Celine and much more. Now you can doll up yourself and dress up to the nines for the coming Christmas party or to your company’s year end annual dinner & dance from head to toe in designer fashion and be the envy of your friends! Quick visit Koodos today and treat yourself to something really nice – you truly deserve to look good and feel good!

I Want To Follow You Kakak!!

When my maid left the house to go Raya shopping with my hubby's staff several days ago, Sherilyn was very upset. She kept screaming "I want to follow you kakak" and bawled till she almost puked. It freaked me out when I saw her choking and coughing and on the verge of puking. If she puked, nobody would be around to help me clean up the mess. For almost an hour, she sat on the floor sucking her thumb to give herself some solace, facing the front door and pulled open the sliding mosquito net door, waiting for kakak to come home. What a 'chai leong' (pathetic) scene, like a little girl being abandoned by her mummy.

I wonder how she will take it when the day comes when my maid has to return to Indonesia for good. And I wonder how she will react to her new kakak. Hopefully the new kakak will get along really well with the gals.

Do You Allow Your Maid To Go Out?

My maid asked me yesterday if she could go out with other maids in the neighborhood during the Hari Raya holidays as she has been invited to follow. I could have just said a big 'no' to her but I told her to ask Sir (my hubby). Based on experience with my first maid where I had no choice but to leave her alone at home, she has had the time and luxury to go out with other maids when my hubby and I were out for work. Consequently, she turned out to be really rebellious, lazy, kept asking to go out more and one day upon the advice of my neighbor's maid, put some 'charm' and urine into my drinking water which I drank.

It is also the advice of the maid agent never to give this freedom to the maid, unless we are ready to face the consequences. It is also stated in the maid's contract that they are not allowed to go out during their 2 years' contract with the employer.

Later when my hubby was back, he told our maid that she can't go out with her friends during the holidays. He told her that we can bring her out for a feast but going out with her friends whom we don't even know is a big NO. My maid was obviously very upset with the decision, moreover my hubby told her off rather strictly. I think she later wept in the bathroom. Later, I told my hubby that he should not have been too harsh with her with his words. Feeling a little bad, my hubby then offered my maid an alternative, that is for his staff to drive her out for a shopping spree. She happily agreed and off she went to the new Giant at Bukit Jalil with my hubby's staff and his wife who is an Indonesian an hour later. My hubby even paid for all her shopping expenses, totalling RM150 for clothes and shoes. That's our Hari Raya gift to her. Tomorrow, we will also be bringing her out for a feast.

To those of you who have a maid, do you give your maid a rest day in the week though it is stated in the contract that no rest day will be allowed? For those of you who allow your maid to go out, do you see any negative impact it has brought?

Outstanding Assignments Cleared

I've finally completed all my outstanding assignments and only left with 1 that I had received yesterday. It's a feeling of relief yet itching for more assignments. Have not been receiving many offers for the last few days. It's funny that when I am bogged down with many assignments, I feel the stress but when I don't have any, I feel upset and itching to have some. Humans are just never satisfied with what they have! Well, at least today I can start writing more personal posts and spend some time reading to the girls.

I Need A New Set Of Cookware

Most of my pots and pans had been damaged by the great flood that swept through out house last year. We had bought some new ones but my maid has spoilt them – she was boiling some barley water one day and had forgotten to turn off the fire and our stainless steel pot is now as black as charcoal. She also tends to forget to use a soft sponge to scrub our non-stick pans, resulting in scratches on the non-stick pans. I’ve read that it is highly toxic if we consume the burnt scraps from the non-stick pan. It’s high time that I get a new set of berndes cookware as this brand of cookware is highly durable and non-reactive with food. My aunty who uses Berndes cookware told me that the stainless steel pots are made with high quality stainless steel in 5 layers and non-stick surface which make cleaning after cooking a breeze. I always believe in getting good quality cookware as they are durable and can last a long time.

Smiling Award

Does my blog make you smile? I sure hope it does and this capable mommy to 3 kids thinks it does make her smile, that's why she has given me this sweet Smiling Award. Thanks Jo-N.

Now, I'm not passing this award specifically to anyone coz I find most of the blogs that I visit do make me smile.

Animal-Themed Gifts For The Animal Lovers

Are you thinking hard of what to get your loved ones and friends this Christmas? If you’re at a lost for ideas, hop on to TheJungleStore.com for some great gift ideas. This store specializes in an extensive range of gifts that are all animal-themed. From cute cuddly stuffed animals for the little ones to animal figurines, fanciful lamp shades, animal themed apparel, fashion accessories, door mats to just about anything you can think of, you can get them all from this gift shop. Bookmark this awesome website and you can visit them to search for gifts for just about any occasions for anyone who loves animals.

Oh No, Not Again Alycia!

It happened again this morning. Alycia was fine in the morning when she woke up - she finished her milk without any fuss, did her poopie business in the loo and then..... just when Alycia saw the toothbrush in my maid's hand, she started to fake puking again. In the process of faking it, she actually induced the vomitting sensation and puked her stinky curdled milk onto the kitchen sink, eeuuu! I can't believe Alycia! How can she hate something so much till she has actually developed a phobia just by the sight of it? Daddy was not happy with Alycia, so was I. But what are we to do? Force her to brush her teeth every morning, at the expense of her health? Puking every morning is really unhealthy. Maybe I should just keep the toothbrush away from her in the morning for the time being.

Hot Tub Spa In My Backyard

It would be really nice if we could place a hot tub spa at our backyard as we have ample space at our backyard to place a portable medium-sized one. I’ve seen a number of these hot tubs on sale at HotTubsHeadquarters.com and the one shown in the picture below costing only $945 can fit nicely at our backyard. My 2 girls love squeezing themselves into their tiny baby bath tub together during their bath time and pretend they are swimming in the pool. If I get this hot tub, not only will my 2 girls get to swim comfortably in the warm water, I’m sure they will be delighted to see bubbles shooting out from the massage floor. As for me, I can’t wait to have a nice massage therapy on the tub everyday, after a hard day’s work. Yes, this tub even comes with powerful dual massaging turbo jets! Oh, what an awesome luxury to have – affordable and practical. Another item on my wish list now!

New Blog Site Stats

Looking at the site stats of my new blog available from the host, I am surprised to see that I have an average of 1,681 hits a day, sometimes the figure reaches 3,700. But what confuses me is the stats also show number of visitors which have a different figure. These are the stats shown for yesterday :

Date : 10 Oct 2007
No. of visitors : 164 (the figure here is low as I still have 200+ visitors to my old blog)
No. of pages :367
Hits : 1879

Does anyone know how to interpret it, i.e. what's the difference between no. of visitors and no. of hits? What are pages too - is it the number of pages that the visitors had viewed from my blog?

Also, I am surprised to see from the stats that most of my visitors are from Australia (8,444 hits), USA (8,678 hits), Netherlands, Japan, HK and other countries abroad. It surprises me more that hits from Malaysia only stand at 500+. These blogging stats are really mind boggling!