and before i sweat the small stuff..i think of this...

The story of Ava has touched me in a way that has effected me tremendously (positively) and has given me a new perspective of motherhood altogether. I've learnt to not sweat the small stuff and before I blow up into a monstrous mom and nag about the what seems to be a ridiculous matter, like cleaning up a mess made by the kids....I think of Ava.

Live each day, every single day, with the understanding that one does not necessarily lead into the other.
Hug your family. Tight.
Put aside What Does Not Matter.
Tomorrow could be a completely new kind of normal.
By Sheye Rosemeyer

meal-time wars

These past few days, I've been having meal-time wars with my lil missy....Although she's 2y 8mo, I insist that she drink her milk three times a day and have her porridge twice a day during lunch and dinner. The reason why I still insist on her eating her porridge is because it's full of nutrition i.e. fish, carrots/pumpkin, veges. In addition to that, when we let her eat our food during mealtimes, she tends to segregate what she wants to eat and what she doesn't and she'd usually just end up eating rice! So mommy has put her foot down. We'll give her her porridge and then she'd nibble on whatever we eat during our mealtimes.

These days, I got to find creative ways to get her to eat or finish up her milk/food...
1.I let her watch a music video of her choice from my iPhone..(Yes, I got one and it's so cool!)
2. I'd tell her that she if she wants to go to school for bigger kids, she needs to finish her milk/food
3. I'd tell her that if she doesn't drink/eat her milk/food, I'd give it to the boy who stays behind our house! (LOL!)
4. I'd tell her that if she doesn't drink/eat her milk/food, she won't be able to press the lift buttons to go to the upper floors...
5. I'd tell her that if she doesn't drink/eat her milk/food, she won't be able to drink her vitagen or eat biscuits...

So what's a mom to do if her lil one refuses to eat or finish up her food but wants other biscuits? Solution : Get rid of all the biscuits and junk food in the house!

The Lil Fella, on the other hand is the total opposite! He wants to eat whenever anyone is eating!:)...It's nice also nice that he enjoys eating his porridge....Hopefully this won't be short-lived.

monster mom

Before I had kids, I used to comment that my neighbour 2 houses away was pretty much like a manic mom. She's a SAHM. When we bump into each other outside of the house, she'd always look very pleasant and composed. But what happens inside of the house is a different story. She has 3 kids - 1 boy about 13yo, and 2 girls in primary school. Every so often, we can hear her scream on TOP of her lungs - obviously frustrated and scolding one or all of her kids. I wouldn't know that. But yes, she's loud.

My neighbour who's staying at the house behind mine is the same. They've a toddler about 4-5yo. Every so often too, I'd hear the SAHM screaming at the top of her lungs - scolding her son. Each time that happens, we'd empathise with the lil boy....

Ever since I got two kids, I now began to understand why, shouting like a mad woman, is sometimes inevitable. I'm not ashame to say that I've not done it. In fact, I have. Many times. To the point that it's pretty scary when I think about it afterwards. I feel pretty helpless at times.....How the heck am I, a FTWM, supposed to juggle between a crying 8mo baby and a 2y 8mo toddler who's got her mind of her own when Hubs is out, without a maid and time is of the essence? It takes great perserverence and patience to not snap at Lil Missy when she's being difficult. Oh God. Help me to be patient...I feel like a Monster Mom!