In control

As a mummy I want to be in control of my child. Not that I want to reign over her and unslave her but I see the need for me to impose certain boundaries until she is grown.

I am sticky with TV time. With the many studies showing the detrimental effects TV have on kids I absolutely see no benefits for them to watch TV as a young baby. So we made it a rule. No TV before 2 years old. And with a lot ( i really mean a lot) of effort, we did not expose Hannah to TV for the first two years of her life. (at least not when she is at home and within our control). And as she passed two years of age, I believe she can watch but in a controlled environment. Means: Either daddy or mummy must be watching with her. To discuss what is seen on the screen so that there is interaction even though the eyes are glued on the screen. Means: there will be teaching at appropriate junctures. Means: Limited time. if 15 minutes is the given time, it has to be turned off when 15 minutes is up regardless of who is still in the middle of his sentence or which character is still dancing away.

I am sticky with manners. If she does not show respect even to the domestic helper, we make sure she is disciplined. She hits us, she gets it. She shows defiance, she gets it. She disobeys, she gets it. Yes, she is young and she is a child. But that does not mean she gets her way even when it is wrong. Yes we are strict and some may say overly strict and not flexible but I think parents who spare the rod and spoil the child will face a greater task as the child grows older.

I am sticky with reading. I understand that we should not force the child to read. we don't. But when she was few months old, she loves books. We read to her all the time. That was her favourite pasttime. Ours too. It has since become a bedtime routine. I must admit as she grows bigger there are more distraction...but I am glad we are still able to share a book each night. Being teachers we see the importance of her reading. The passion of it will make language learning easier for her. Also, reading is a good habit to cultivate as it calms her down for bedtime. And most of all, the time spent quietly on mummy or daddy's lap is magical.

Ok, time to feed Hannon. to be continued.

Some updates

Things have been going on rather well for us. We're more or less into a routine already and thus some sanity at home.

Weekday routine:
715: dress up and get ready for the day
730: Hannon's first feed
800: Hannah wakes up for milk
830: Hannon naps and I take Hannah down to take her schoolbus
I then proceed with my morning fix of either: gym, coffee, chill.. me time basically
11am: Hannon's second feed
12: My lunch time
1230: Hannah's back from school Bathe and spend one to one time with her.
230: Hannah's nap time/ Hannon's third feed
330: Hannon's nap time
500: Hannah wakes  and we go for a walk
600: Hannon's feed time
Then we are usually out and about till 9plus
Hannah sleeps at 10 and Hannon feeds right after Hannah sleeps
1030: Couple time and zzzzzzzzzzzz

Weekends.. is somewhat similar but with Hannah not in school it is more demanding and yeah i have no morning fix so I just bring Hannah out for breaky while hub goes for his American football game. OR we'll all have a family breaky while Hannon sleeps.

Next week i will be adjusting Hannon's routine to 3.5-4 hourly.
akan datang

All about me

The last time i seriously wrote an essay on this topic was... when I was... in primary one?! I remember writing on that broad-lined, brown jotter book. (That type of paper where you erase and the spot becomes black!) It was the typical, My name is... there are four members in my family... my father works as....my mother... my sister... I study in....

And twenty odd years down the road this simple essay though has not changed in its facts have certainly become much more enriched in content.

I am Jaslyn. I am married to a wonderful husband who happens to be my childhood (if you call 16 years old part of that) sweetheart. We practically grew up together in church as kids but only got to know each other in our teens. Somehow with myriad of events and his efforts to go after the (ahem~) popular girl, we got together. And me? I  fell into the river of love and has been swimming in it since then.. sometimes drowning, sometimes floating and at times swimming along or against the current. I look forward to many more years of being in the river of love and whether or not i need a float or a swimming vest, I want to stay in it for the many years to come.

I am Jaslyn. I am a proud mother of two wonderful kids. My daughter, Hannah is now 25 months old. She is a cheeky bom bom. As much as pushing me to the edge of exploding in frustration with her terrible twos antics, I love her to bits. She is the cutest girl i've ever seen and she is my love. It is a joy to do things with her and seeing her grow never fails to amaze me. She is such great part of my life and has somehow stolen my heart in her secret ways. My son, Hannon is 2 months old. He is a fatty bom bom. He is so round I secretly harbour the fantasy of rolling him to see if he could do so! (shhh~) He is docile and charming in his own ways and most of the time for now he sleeps and feed and poo... but he is beginnning to notice my present and hey! he smiles and coos at me when i speak to him. I look forward to seeing him grow too. Wonder how life will be with two toddlers running wild!

I am Jaslyn. I am a teacher. Well, I am officially a teacher but am on leave. I still love my school and my job and teaching but I guess the time now is for me to spend the time with my own kids. I do, however, look forward to returning to where I left off from. Though i am uncertain when that day will be. It may be soon, it may take longer. But when my heart tells me so, I will follow it and move on. For now, head and heart says, Hannah and Hannon need mummy more.

I am Jaslyn. I am a person who has somehow grown to appreciate having few close friends to many aquaintances. I have come to realise that the number of people revolving around me is not of that great an importance. A few solid friends and a strong family support is all the network that keeps me going. Having said that, I am a peaceloving person. I cannot stand disharmony.Thus, I do not bear much of a grudge against anyone. However, being a woman and an emotional being, pain do linger on for a long time before it dissipates. I enjoy having friends who do not contact you only when they have an agenda in mind. I enjoy having freinds who are candid and speak their minds. I enjoy having friends who understands what I am going through or at least try to do so. I enjoy having friends who are, well, real. No pretense, no agenda. Just simplicity. Friends who share a cup of coffee because they simply enjoy your company. I am also a person who is very sticky to routine. I like things to stay in control and systematic. I like things to be calm and prepares everything in advance. But with two kids, I have learnt and is still learning to anticipate changes, embrace them and be spontaneous about things and life.

I am Jaslyn. I have dreams that are kept alive but most of the time I lack the passion to pursue them. I want to be able to conplete grade 8 piano. To travel around the world. To speak Spanish proficiently. To stay in a foreign country for a couple of years. To travel to another country on my own( short term lah~).To constantly look groomed and fashionable (this is hard work... it never fails to amaze me how anyone can put on their make-up, lenses with polished nails and nicely coordinated clothes, nicely permed hair, everytime they leave the house even to the market?!), to open my own stationary shop... and the list goes on

I am Jaslyn. I remember writing an essay on how much I love my grandma when I was in Primary two. I still love her to bits. She took care of me as a kid and I have been her blue eye girl since then! I remember how she piggy backed me to a clinic blocks away when I was sick before she finally stopped, panted and said :" bee, you walk on your own, ah ma is too tired already". We still meet up for meals occasionally and I make sure I hug her when I see her every Sunday. My grandma is getting older. And as much as it being so sombre to talk about it... i do wonder from time to time how life would be like when she finally leave us. I dread the day and I hope it will never come because when it does, i know my heart will be broken and I probably cry for a long time to come. So for now, I celebrate and thank God for each day that she is around. I cherish chatting with her on the phone. I cherish the meals we share. I look forward to bringing her out for shopping. I love her.

I am Jaslyn. There are so many facets of me and my life that I wish to go on. But the babies are awake. So I have to sign off. I wonder when I will  write on this topic again. And when I do, will it be much mroe different from now?

I am Jaslyn. Today I am happy. I am contented with what I have and I find joy in what I do. I thank God for it all.