All About Your Child

I had one of the most amazing time at my cousin’s house yesterday. Being with people who took care of me when I was a tiny little baby is an indescribable joy. The extend of joy is a direct connection to the amount of food I eat. Hence to maintain my figure, its wiser to feel miserable more often. *laugh*

Yesterday marked the end of my Chinese New Year visitings. Tonight we will allow the boys to open their Hong Baos. For the first time, we decided not to put ALL their Hong Baos’ money into their Bank account.

Feeling generous, we would like the kids to enjoy their rewards; nope, not all of it; BUT HALF OF IT. The other half will still go to their bank account.

They can use the 50% to get ANYTHING they want, provided its within the amount they have in their pockets. Neither Allan nor I will top up any amount, if they chose to buy something beyond what they could afford.

Cool?!
I love the idea!

Nope! I don’t think they are too young….

When I was my boys’ age, all my Hong Baos’ money were ‘re-cycled’ by my mother; since she had to give Hong Baos to other children too. It was till I was in Secondary School before I could keep ALL my Hong Baos. I do not blame my mother for doing so, cos’ its quite a hefty amount just by giving Hong Baos on CNY.

What your style? Do you allow your kids to keep the money? Spend the money? Or do you ‘re-cycle’ them too?

This happened on 27th January 2009

Background story as to why 2nd day of CNY is extra special to me:

Ever since my dad passed away 14 years ago, we hardly get in touch with his family, except for CNY. My dad has 11 brothers and sisters (including himself). Its a big family that is scattered all over Malaysia, Singapore and one in England. My dad was born in Malaysia, but during the time of Singapore’s Independence, he became a Singapore Citizen, holding a pink IC.

When my mom left home one year after my marriage, my sis and I went MIA (missing-in-action) completely. I didn’t want to answer questions like, “Where is your mom? Where did she go? Why did she leave?…”

It was till the day she passed away, that we ‘re-appeared’ to this big family. It felt really awkward when we appeared on 2nd Day of CNY 3years ago. For one, we were the only family without the ‘old folks’. Luckily, my boys diverted the relatives’ attention away. It’s much better now.

Many ask, why did we bother to go back after 8 years of MIA. Simple, I miss them. My mom did them wrong, but we didn’t. In all due respect, I should still meet up with them once a year. On top of that, my sis haven’t been getting a ‘decent’ amount of Hong Baos for 8years. With her steady relationship with her boyfriend, she would not be able to enjoy the privilege of receiving them for too many years now.

Ever since my grandma passed away, the 5 families in Singapore no longer go into Malaysia, it was the other way round. ‘Cos the eldest sibling is in Singapore. The photo above only shows less than half of the huge family.

This year, Binbin was extra cranky. His level of cooperation decreases as we head to more houses. Till this (left) happened while we were on the way to the 3rd house.

Allan stayed with him in the car for another half an hour before we decided to end his nap.

The last house we went was a relative we had not seen for 10years! We didn’t have much to talk about but Binbin sure enjoyed himself playing with their dog.

This pretty much ends the visiting craze of CNY. This Sunday, we will be visiting my Mom’s family. The family who took care of me since the day I was born. *smile*