All About Your Child

Due to the nature of Allan’s job, he is like a SAHD. He is unavailable only during weekends and on occasional weekday nights. So you can imagine that the ‘work’ I need to do as a SAHM, isn’t that bad eh? *wink*

Its only when he signs up for courses or seminars, do I get a chance to be a ‘true‘ SAHM, completely on my own without any help. And so it shall be for 3 days, today till sunday. He had to leave the house at 8am and be home almost 12mn. Super long seminar eh? *wink* Its the Millionaire Mind Intensive Program. Well, I guess to be a Millionaire, there are too many tips to share…*laugh*

Its funny how the kids are MORE MANAGEABLE when their Papa is not around, maybe because there is only ONE person they could turn too, less confusion. *laugh*

So since my man is not around, I decided to do a post specially for him *wink*:~

I won’t consider myself to be a high-tech or digital person. You can say I’m practical or you can call me old-fashion.

I never feel safe with my stuff in the PC. ‘cos my PC did collapsed several times before, due to virus and spam and what-have-you. The end result? I had to re-format my whole PC, like giving it a heart-transplant and with that I lost everything I used to store in it.

Allan and I are very much the same kind of species. We love to look at our kids photos as and when we like, without the need to switch on the electrical power. I consider myself a lazy person. Though I would want to download all the photos from my sister’s digital camera, my handphone, Allan’s handphone, my BIL’s digital camera, slowly sort them out according to years and eventually get them printed…. too much work… so I’ve been procrastinating.

Allan knows me too well. So he just did it.

He bought folders with transparent slots in them. He went to get quality photo papers. Downloaded all my boys photos from all sources. Sort them out according to the year it was taken. Did some simple editing to the photos. Combined 4 shots into one page and started printing on the A4 photo papers.

And this was the result.

And he is still printing till this day, as and when we take new shots of our boys….

Up to date, there are 4 folders. First folder consists of photos taken in 2003 – 2005, total 168 photos for 3 years. How come so little? ‘cos we were so busy with out retail business, no chance to take more photos.

Second folder is for year 2006, total 164. The third folder is purely for last year, total 268 photos! It seems like its increasing by the year. *laugh*

And for this YEAR, it went waaaaay over! One folder is completely FILLED with 320 photos and there are still so many that are not printed out yet! So Allan decides to print everything first, count the exact number of slots needed (after 31st December) before he purchases the 2nd folder just for 2008! *Eyes Rolled*

Just in case some of you may wonder why I didn’t choose to get those photo-shops to develop them for us — it cost 50cents per photo and with our quantity, 168 + 164 + 268 + 320 = 756 x 50cents, it would have cost us $378.00!!!!

We did all these for less than $150, including the price of the ink! Isn’t that great savings? Allan didn’t think it was hardwork anyway… *wink*

Thank you for the well-wishes and maybe because there were so many of them, that’s why I’m so much better today that I could visit a few of you and be typing here now. Thank you.

I should have posted this yesterday, but I didn’t cos I didn’t want to think too much, tummy too painful to help my brain to function properly.

It was yesterday morning, 4th November, I merely said to Allan as a passing sentence, nothing emotional, in a rather dead tone, “Today is my mother’s birthday.” Without a second thought, he said, “Ok, Let’s go!” It was unexpected. I did not even have that thought in mind. It was just a statement.

My heart was stirred. To some people, its not right. I’m a bad girl, a bad daughter. For those of you who have read My Story, you probably understand a little better for my reaction. But then, I thought, “Its Time. I’m ready for ‘those’ questions from my boys.”

Ever since my aunt passed away earlier this year, I’ve already educated my boys about death. For those of you who think you might have a problem explaining death to your kid, you may want to read how I did it, just for reference purposes.

When we were in the car, Keatkeat asked, “Mommy, where are we going?” “To see my Papa and Mama because today is my Mama’s birthday.” I replied plainly. “Oh, you missed her ah?” he asked naturally. The only reply you could hear was the sound of the car’s engine……

Yes, my boys knew that my parents were dead. But I’ve never brought them to their grave. I merely showed them photos. So this is the first time they ‘met’.

We bought 2 hand-held windmills for my Papa and a bunch of artificial roses for my Mama, its her favourite red roses. They are about 5mins-car-drive away from each other. My Papa was buried while my Mama was cremated.

We stood at my Mama’s ‘condominium’. I asked the boys if they wanted to say, “Happy Birthday Por Por”, Keatkeat did without hesitation. Binbin didn’t want to at first, until just before we left, he said in his husky voice, “Por Por, Happy Birthday.” My kids could have had the chance to speak to her before she died, but I didn’t give them that chance. That’s the most controversial part I guess. That’s another story by itself.

Then we popped over to my Papa’s ‘landed property’ and put down the 2 windmills, one on each side of his tombstone. They said, “Hello, Gong Gong.” before they got themselves busy with making the windmill move, it was a wind-less day. And before they left, it was a happy, “Bye bye Gong Gong!”

And that was it. Those words my boys said to my Papa and Mama was one of the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, yet they were piercing through my heart like sharp blades. God was kind, maybe He knew that I’m still not ready for the questions.

Those questions that I’m most afraid to answer….will come, I know they will, from the mouth of my boys and when I tell the truth, they may not like what they hear, they may judge me, they may even feel ashamed of their mommy…. till that day comes… for now, I’ll just stay dumb about this, a dark truth kept in the rusty, locked-up treasure chest, hidden deep down, deep down in a corner of my heart….