Brat Stuff – Page 52 – My Life in Canada

October 7, 2008

Another School Day

Chloe is pretty much settled into her school routine.. and enjoys waking up every morning to go to school now. This was taken this morning.. but with me.. being very heavy heart. We were told some time during the school and meet a few weeks ago.. that Chloe will be joining a special class to improve her motor-skill and that was alright with us.. because really she didn’t do much of cutting and pasting.. with us except lots of drawing.

She said she has gotta shake her bum, bum first before going to school here. Anyhow.. her teacher sent home some paperwork for her French resource teacher to evaluate where Chloe is academically. One of the question that her french resource teacher asked was “does Chloe speaks in English at home?” I found that truly disturbing .. because Chloe only speaks English.. at home… and everywhere. And you’ve all heard chloe on videos I’ve taken.. albeit.. sometimes.. she ain’t too clear .. but hey..!! she is only 4 yrs and 9 months old eh. I don’t think i even spoke half as well as she did.. at her age… plus being super cute too.

This is Chloe saying . .i’m still tired. Anyhow.. I’ll be calling the Resource teacher today.. to see what her concerns are.. and help her to understand Chloe a little better. I know.. that my daughter.. is not slow nor stupid… she is just pretty young.. but definitely raring to learn.. and experience.. and go. And i can see that she enjoys her school so much. She is just a delighted lil’ kid.

October 1, 2008

4th Week In School

This was taken this morning.. while the brat was getting ready school. This week.. she was perfect.. except for a waking up at 5am.. two days ago. No crying.. and not s much of “missing us” and not wanting to go to school. This week.. she played a lot at the playground.. and planning for play dates. She is excited about school. .and she seems to be fitting in really well. Her teacher .. just loves her .. and thinks she is so cute. You should see her scurry when the bell rings for her to line up. In between trying to hug us .. and kiss us.. and then putting on her backpack and lunch bags.. and a file.. she was busy. .muahahhaha!!

And she is such a good kid.. because this morning.. i had explained to her in the car.. that she need to hurry.. and get outta her sweater .. when she get into the corridors .. and that she didn’t need to dilly dally.. and guess what..?? a peek into the corridor this morning.. saw her outta her sweater.. and in the class in a jiffy. So here it is.. for those moms.. having kids going to school soon.. it does work out.. and gets only better.

September 25, 2008

1st Parents & Teachers Meet

Already..?? i hear yer saying.. muahhaha!! yes.. ! already..!! it’s to meet Chloe’s other teachers and the school staff .. plus also to get an idea of what the teacher is doing in class. Certainly different from my time in school.. where teachers and parents meet is all about us being bad.. and our parents being called to the principal office.

My thoughts about the educational system in Canada as compared to Singapore..?? I really think here is a lot more relaxed and I can see Chloe’s teacher trying her very best to help with every single student. Unlike back home, I think I would have had to get a tuition teacher for Chloe right now. Her teacher had also mentioned that Chloe fine motor skills needed help and Chloe will be in a small group just for that. I knew this was gonna happened because Chloe being the youngest in class and we don’t really allowed her to play with cutting and scissors because in the store, I sometimes cannot keep an eye on her.. if she played in her play area. But I’m happy to report I’m quite pleased with what I saw but I’m still a wee bit apprehensive about the “french” thingie. But if i learned so many languages in Singapore, I’m quite sure she can cope with French no..??

September 23, 2008

Chloe Was Ill

Chloe had been sick for 2 days now.. but today she started feeling better. I’ll have to say that I raised a really thoughtful kid.. because she said to PB and I.. that she didn’t wanna kiss us.. because she didn’t wanna get us sick.. the first day .. when she had a fever. And even though she was sick.. she wasn’t fussy or anything.. just rested alot.. on her couch.. and watching lots of Simpsons. She ate only soup and crackers yesterday and today. But this evening.. she had some noodles. And yes, we kept her home, no need to pass it to other kids eh.

September 21, 2008

First School Trip To Apple Farm

Chloe went for her first class trip already.. !! last week on a Wednesday. Of course, yours truly played chaperon ..!!! afterall, it was her first ever trip in an “autobus” school bus in french, so like any good parents.. we went along. But we let her go on the autobus on her own… we followed behind. Mostly, because i just had an operation, so not ready to take a class trip on a school bus.

I’ll have to say.. that most of the parents went.. and you can see that these parents are like myself.. very anxious and caring parents.. just like myself. I also noticed that quite a few of the mummies are working moms.. who had taken time off to go along.

Apple farm owner .. Andy Wallace (we know him for a long time) .. explaining about the apples and taking his time.. to walk around the farm with all the classes. I’ll have to say.. that the Apple farms owners.. are the best.. this is a free trip.. the apples the kids picked.. didn’t cost us.. or the school any money.

Even though it is called an Apple Farm, Wallace Apples & Nursery has more than just apples. Pear is also one of their major seller, with grapes and plums.

Alot of walking that day.. but it was good exercise for all of us. I had two kids to chaperon.. one was a cute little girl called Tylesha and another i cannot put the name up here.. because his parents may sue me for $40K.. muahahhaha!!! yes you guess right.. !!!

Apples..!! Apples..!! Apples..!!

Apples fresh from the tree picked by Chloe.

Chloe taking a class picture and eating a cookie before going back to school. Overall, we had a very great trip. The teachers did a great job.. and i can see that my daughter is going to be well taught by her teacher.

September 20, 2008

Natalie From Seattle, Washington

This is Natalie from Seattle, Washington. In May, 2005, Natalie arrived from USA, a gift from blogging friend, Stef – a Singaporean married to an American. If you are wondering about Mrs Tweetyblog, this was the blog i started at blogspot when i first started blogging.. but had to shut down because of my ~~chicken shit~~ neighbour. Long story but if you want to hear about it, let me know.

Fast forward 3 years, Chloe is still playing with Natalie .. and carries her around. In the last few years, we’ve been blessed and touched by so many kind and generous people on the blogosphere. I cannot thank all of you for your gifts, kindness, kind words and taking an interest in our life. Thank you all for being a friend and thank you for reading everyday.

September 19, 2008

Personalized Music & Books For Kids

Like any parents I am sure you only want to buy things for your child no matter how old they are, gifts that can help them with their development and also nurture them. Whether it is to stimulate them mentally or physically, we want to choose carefully and make sure that she/he benefits from it. I am not any different from the other mummies out there and personalized gifts for children from KidsMusicBoxCD.com are what I find to be the best thing any parents can buy for their kids. These personalized music cds and story books are pretty unique and very affordable. I find that Chloe responded to music, rhymes and story books better when they shout out her name during stories and songs.

You can choose from soothing lullabies to entertaining sports CDs and many different stories to integrate your kid’s name into the lyrics or story line. I noticed the delightful squeal when Chloe first heard her name in a story and the name of the town she lived in and they get to hear it as many as 98 times in a song or book. It’s wholesome and your kids learn from it, plus you can even ask to print their name on the label and leave a special message from the giver. Designed for kids age 1 – 14, I say start them young and help them learn to love reading and singing. Great gifts from Grammie, Grampie and even Godma..!

September 19, 2008

I Bathed My Brat For The First Time !

It had been more than 1.5 yrs since i last bathed my brat .. and last nite .. i bathed my brat for the first time. It was a wonderful feeling!! even though i’m not fully recovered .. i still wanted to do it.. so that PB don’t have to close shop early to come home to do it. I don’t have Keegan on Wednesdays and Thursdays .. because she is back in school .. and truth be told.. i can’t wait till i am fully recovered to do that things i had been doing for her since she was a baby. 1.5yrs ago.. my fibroids grew so huge.. that i cannot bend over the tub. .to bath chloe nor carry her. So i’m really glad i went for the operation. I wrote an update on my health blog for those who are interested.

And my biggest reward after bathing her last nite ..?? she turned around .. after she had her milk to say this to me.. ” I love you mama ..! yer the best mom in the world..!” .. i was absolutely touched.. beyond words. I’ve always known that Chloe is way mature for her age .. and she always seems to say and do the most appropriate things at the most appropriate times. Of course .. she can be a brat too.. if she wants.. but she is really, really 80% an angel.

September 18, 2008

Chloe & Mama’s Home Made Beef Stew

A staunch believer of teaching them young, I try to let Chloe helped in housework.. cooking and even cutting of corns when i am cooking. It is actually so much fun.. seeing her so enthusiastic in helping. .and doing it right. It need not be a big thing, it can be just anything any mummy wanna do with their kid. It certainly makes her feel really good about herself.. that she helped me.

As you can see .. she is helping me dry up the potatoes and carrots.. and that itself to me.. is awesome. I like having her do stuff with me. Earlier on.. i had to do dishes.. so i let her wash her bottles, just by her scrubbing them with bubbles. She didn’t really washed it.. but you get what i mean eh.

There you go, here’s our pot of home made beef stew in slow cooker .. all ready to eat . .and for lunch the next day. And yes.. i let her put in the onion mix.. and turn on the tap for me.. to boil water.. and let her close the lid and turn on the slow cooker. And she was an awesome helper..! Teach them young. .and you will never have problems.. making them do stuff at home.. that was what my grandmother said.

September 16, 2008

Pictures Crazy Mom Needs Printer

2nd day at school this week. Told yer I was a picture crazy mom.

I used to own a 35mm camera but ever since giving birth to my lil’ brat, PB invested in a digital camera. Now that was some 4.5 yrs ago and we never looked back. The amount of photos that I had taken of Chloe and everything around me, since I need to send pictures home and to relatives, godma and grandparents included, is massive. I sometimes spend hours in a photo shop at our local mall, just to print out pictures to send out to various friends and family for special occasions. But you can imagine the crowd and the wait.. and the “I feel so bad for keeping you in line” during the festive seasons when everyone wants to do the same for their loved ones. This year, the man & I decided that we should invest in a new printer, something like an HP LaserJet 4000 (c4118a) because then we wouldn’t have to waste time waiting in lines and driving to the mall just to print out all those photos. With a good printer in our own store (we own our own business), we can even offer this additional service to our customer/s.

As always, we’ve done our little research, went to look at the printers physically and this is what we concluded. The HP LaserJet 4000 is not only the latest in printing technology it also offers enhanced quality for great pictures thus printing out smooth photo-like images. It can also print up to 17 pages per minute. While other machines take a long time just to start up, the HP LaserJet is quite fast and only takes 17 seconds to get ready, so whether we use it for the customers or ourselves, it’s efficient. It has a great print resolution thus making it great for photo printing (meaning for photo crazy moms like me). The printer tray is easy to maneuver and can hold up to 500 sheets and the memory is expandable from 4MB to 100MB. It also has an option for ethernet connections and uses a parallel connection making it compatible with most OS’s. Most importantly it is quite affordable, not more than $120 if you know where to get it. I’ll say get it if you are like me, who loves picture taking and have family and loved ones to keep in touch with.

And this is the printer [(HP LaserJet 4000 (c4118a)] we wanna get.