Zero to Ten

Ain't trying to act cute at my Motherly age, but some fun can spice up the mundanes. Showcasing the 'Asian culture,' from the 'Asians at work' video. 

A family team effort that was only successful after multiple shots and days. Just how UN-photogenic we are to get pictures right. I was trying to be as demure as I could, without those overly cute poses - The Mummy's version.

 

 

And.... The final... TEN!

Peekaboo!

 

What's in their Names

What's in the kids' names? Before we had kids, while still dating, it seemed like the man and I often chat up on suggestive names for our future kids. Even before he popped the flowers and ring. Simply means, we appreciate nice names around us. And when it was our turn to becoming parents, we took a long journey to decide on names.

JAZZELLE 
When we found out my first pregnancy was a girl, we wanted to settle with 'Gisele'. Nope, not Gisele Bundchen inspired, just happened to see it somewhere. Then we realised, this name got kinda common, and my mum joked in dialect, "Ji siao!" Which means always causing trouble in Hokkien. So nah, it's back to the drawing board.

We goggled lots and referenced to a book of names we bought. And there, I saw how beautiful this name was spelled - JAZZELLE. Feels like music with elegance to me! It's an American name which means, the promise and special one. Indeed how precious and unique a child is. As husband and wife, we didn't take long to consent on that name. Even though Jazz came unexpected, I know it's God's promise to me, her Mother. 

韶恩
Her Chinese name is Shao(2) En(1). My mum's into feng shui, and she wants her grand kids' Chinese characters to be 'auspicious.' So we went to a geomancer. Not that we are into it, but we are totally clueless about Chinese names. We were given many characters to match and finally picked these with my parents help. 韶 - Beautiful, ancient music. Which lined with her English name. 恩 - Gratitude. I hope she grows to hold great appreciation and gratitude within her.

JARETH
Our second child's a boy. We've no intended names and so we went back to the book of names. I flipped for days and nights, but nothing caught my eyes. I thought having another J name was ideal, but was very open to having names with K or E, but to no avail as well. My then colleagues would send me links of J names, give suggestions and even though Js are an extremely common letter of names to begin with. We chose it! The sibling identity perhaps. This boy's name was a headache, the man and I could not come to an agreement. Days before his birth, we settled him as Jevon. But thoughts after thoughts, with friends telling me it sounded like a girl, I went back to the book again. I've been wanting to call him JARETH. It was shortlisted, but the man did not agree. And on the day he was birthed, still undecided until it was time to register his name, my man gave in. Well of course, I'm the child's mother, we have that unique womb bonding of 38 weeks. JARETH shall be it! An English name with many variations. According to the Welsh, it means gentle. We hope he grows to be a fine gentleman.

智宇
His Chinese name is Zhi(4) Yu(3). Also given many characters to matched, we decided on 智 - Wisdom, Knowledge. 宇 - Universe. We put them together and thought, wow! A powerful name. He gotta have the wisdom and knowledge of the Universe. What a name to live up to!

Well, names being just names, we all need identity. A gift tag from parents to their babies, to carry with for life. "Don't you dare denounce the names we gave you, Js. It's our gift to you both!" Live with it and love it! Just like how we love you both.

No to Anger

I'm on an anger management project. One that got me on and off track a few times, but still not giving up till I yield success. I want to yell lesser NOT yell at the kids and get my anger controlled. Easier said than done, but 'try' is the keyword. Let me first set a realistic time frame - No yelling and get anger controlled for at least 2 weeks. After which, I hope I can celebrate success and keep this as an ongoing parenting project.

I've listed 10 things to aid my project and got it pasted at my 'time out' corner, in the kitchen. Out of the kids' sight, so they won't take advantage of my project to get mischievous. Each time they hit my nerve, I'll set off to do my 'time out.'

Seeing is believing

I tried to negotiate a little, how is it possible to not yell after giving the kids so many repeated commands or when they committed an intolerable act? So, I guess, it's alright to bring that regular tone a little stern and down, but not to pitching it higher. Sounds fair huh. 

Past few weeks, while I was attempting this project, I've realized a good way to get Jazz cooperate better in the morning. On her grumpy mornings, she would whine and and sit on the bed till, probably the sun sets again. My hundred times of plea, asking her to brush her teeth and change up never seemed effective. So then, I realized, yelling after the third command doesn't benefit either of us positively. I'll just have to go chirpy in our moody morning - "Good morning Darling!" "It's a bright morning, smile!" "Mummy loves you! You're such a goodie girl." My smiles and praises got her mood lifted and after a while, she's all ready for breakfast and school. Sometimes, she'll ask me to help brush her teeth, which I'll usually not interfere in the routines she's capable of. But fulfilling that request once a while doesn't seem harmful. So sure, I brushed her teeth! It's probably one tantrum less to be avoided. Parenting is sometimes about getting hold of the tricks.

I hope project 'No to anger' will yield success. And to all Mums, welcome to join me... or maybe you have already perfected the skills to anger management. Happy to hear your tips, if any.