Inherent contradiction

Jordan is an inherent contradiction.

She is a girly girl. She loves pink, she loves princesses, she loves dressing up. She will also speak to you gently, because that is how young ladies should speak.

But at the same time, she will unceremoniously holler at her brothers. She is equally at home in an ugly pair of rain boots and is secure enough in her femininity to carry around a Thomas the Tank Engine umbrella.

At home, she fashions outfits out of whatever scraps she can find. She will use anything, biggish pieces of cloth, towels, her dresses, my clothes to create a particular look. Often it is to have her legs and feet covered. Thankfully, her idea of Princess fashion is somewhat puritan and I am going to let her keep it that way. Her latest creation was with a big piece of gauze a friend passed to us. Hold it up with a hairband and hours of pretend 'wedding' fun will follow. Evan occasionally obliges to be her prince and will dance with her and kiss her in a way that, if they were not 4, would be disturbing on some level.

Funniest fashion moment so far was when she berated her father, who had bought a pair of Air Jordan's. She accused him of wearing her shoes. Obviously, there was no arguing his way out of that one because as she very sternly pointed out, the box had her name on it.

Packrat's response was that he was looking after it for her. While it calmed her down and went in search of Mommy's heels instead, I don't think that in a million years would Jordan ever fit into a size 10 but then, at least Packrat got his shoes back and they fit. Talk about a Cinderalla complex re- inventing itself in the 21st century.

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10 days of being home from school

The twins have been home for the last 10 days. Their school had to shut because there were 16 cases of HFMD in a school that was 800 big.

Anyway, when that announcement was made, there was a great collective gasp among the parents. Our thought bubbles could have all combined into a loud, resounding big one that would have read "WHAT THE HECK ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THEM FOR 10 DAYS?" Upper case included in the thought bubble.

But as with most things, we get through it as best as we can and there are some moments of great annoyance and exhaustion but some priceless ones too.

So here are 10 things that they did in the last 10 days.

1. Make a grand mess of the house.

I got a delivery package that was totally environmentally unfriendly because it was packed with styrofoam. Before I could stop the children, they were playing at it being winter time and throwing 'snow' off chairs onto the ground and singing "Frosty the Snowman". The house looked terrible after that, but the twins and Muffin included knew enough to get the cleaning equipment, brooms, dustpans etc and cleaned up the mess as best as they could. I stepped in but they did most of the work, thankfully. And only at 1 1/2 and 4 is sweeping actually a fun activity.


















2. Engage in expensive extra activity.

I was toying with the idea of just keeping them with me without spending an extra cent but that would mean
a. I wouldn't have any time to do errands like buy groceries.
b. I wouldn't have any time to get any of my work done.
c. Selfishly, I wouldn't have any down time at all let alone time to myself.

Packrat told me not to be ridiculous and just put them in the art class that they wanted to go for. So I caved, took out a big stash of my hard saved money and paid for them to be entertained and out of my hair for 3 hours a day, 3 days in a row. The outcome: They had a lot of fun and created many pieces including, a plaster/ clay genie lamp anda nice canvas of the genie from Aladdin.


















But one thing for sure, I am not sending them back there. The paintings are identical because the teacher maps out similar things for them to paint. Only the colours vary. And the little bit of individual touches on their work, the teacher actually complained and explained to me that my children were always too interested in exploring painting through other means, like using their fingers to dot instead of the brush that they were to use. In my book, it's art, it's their work and it's fully legit. In my book, an art teacher that says that should.not.be.an.art.teacher.

3. Play with toys.
This sounds like something they would do all the time but the truth is that there is so much for them to do that they sometimes miss playing with their toys. Evan has developed a great love for vehicles. So toy cars, ambulances, trucks and planes are his flavour of the month. He is looking thrilled here because his beloved Uncle Mark bought him a new seaplane. He had an old jetliner but it was looking more and more like just a tube because his Destructosaurus brother Muffin had managed to break off the wings and one of the wheels. When I demanded one morning that he was to share his plane with Muffin, he burst into tears. He claimed that if he lent it to Muffin, Muffin would break it and he would have no more airplane and Muffin had already broken everything else of the plane. And even then, because I ordered him to share it, he weepingly passed it to Muffin who thereupon went round banging the already banged up plane around the house while Evan sorrowfully looked on. On the quiet, I asked Uncle Mark if he could pick up one for Evan and Evan was chuffed at the new addition to his fleet. He still seems to have a soft spot for his banged up one though.


















4. Playing make believe and dress up.

Just as Evan loves his Hotwheels and and cars, Jordan loves playing make believe and dress up. Of course, she loves everything related to princesses and getting married. I let her figure out what props she can use to transform herself into a princess. Afterall, Cinderella did that too. So she uses blankets, my old maternity skirts with elastic waistbands and random pieces of cloths to fashion long gowns that cover her toes, which is apparently a true sign of a princess.
Her latest acquisition was a long piece of gauze, which with the aid of a hairband turns into a long train for the Little Miss Make Believe. She occasionally ropes Evan in to be her prince and he has to dance with her, escort her and kiss her.




















5. Children's Season at the Art Museum

I am very late to this, but it was always hard to find time. With their time off from school, I took them, together with their grandma and it was great fun. My only complaint was too much sensory stimulation and when I came out, my brain felt immensely tired! Both kids liked the empty room where they could build train tracks up the wazoo and send trains down their engineering feats. From the experience, I am clearly not cut out to be an engineer. I could never get the tracks to go in the shape and direction I wanted them to.

The other twin pleaser was where the kids could slip giant discs down panels to create panels. They liked the shopping baskets they used to cart the discs up and down and running up and down to see what pattern they had created. They have asked to go back and I think we're going to try to find some time despite there being only 7 days left in this month!
























6. Watch a lot of television.

The twins have learnt that Mommy doesn't like it when they watch too much television. So they unabashedly tell me to leave the house or tell me to bring them to Grandma's and leave them there. I am not to stay. I mostly accede because it gives me time out from them. I am mostly amused by their ability to know who to play and who not to mess with. It is a wise skill for them to learn from so young.

7. Play with Muffin

When they are not fighting and trying to wrest something out of his vise-like grip, they have lots of fun playing with Muffin. They play catch with him, hide and seek, peekaboo and generally run amok round the house. There is lots of screeching (Muffin), screaming (Evan) and squealing (Jordan). There have been many moments where I leave the house to go sit at a cafe where it is quiet and I can hear myself think.























There is Muffin in the picture but you can't actually see him because he's whizzed by.

8. Learn strange phrases

Possibly a product of watching too much television but the twins have taken to exclaiming very loudly gems like "Oh my goodness!" or "Oh man!" or "Cheese Gromit!" I suspect if we gave them another year or so, they'd be able to actually hold a conversation with quotes from their various favourite shows.

9. Eat grown up food.

In the week and a bit that they were home, they tried eating in increasing grown-up-ness, granola with milk, scalded baby kailan with no taste whatsoever and crocodile soup. And they loved the crocodile soup which is more than I can say for myself.

10. Exert their independence in strange ways.

We live on the 14th floor. The twins will either take the lift to the 13th floor and walk up one or take it to the 15th floor and walk down one. They throw us out of the lift and want to do this on their own. Baring the lift breaking down inside, I think it's a great thing for them to be learning.

So, there, 10 things. And more importantly, I survived although I am desperately in need of a long kid-less holiday right about now. And someone please throw in a spa too!

Technorati Tags: twins, HFMD, Art Boot Camp,

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18 months of Muffin

Muffin turned 18 months this month. It's so quick. I still call him baby but at the same time, I am well aware of how quickly he is growing up. This is further accelerated by the fact that he worships the ground his siblings trod on and he imitates them, making him grow up seemingly faster.

All the child development books divide development into the different aspects. So let's see where he is on the different planes.
Cognitive development
Muffin is still pre-verbal although he surprises us with nuggets of difficult words occasionally. The regular rhetoric is usually repetitive sounds- "Mama", "Papa", "Korkor", "Bear-bear", "Duck-duck", "cold-cold", "no-no". But when he feels like it, "Bubble", "Bathtub", "Turtle". His favourite family of words are words denoting action including verbs. "Go!" "Jump!" "Up!" "Down!" And of course, "NO!"

He also loves imitating his siblings so he can hold a crayon and scrawl. Unfortunately for us, it sometimes ends up on our walls. He has favourite songs that he will clap and groove too and he clasps his hands together in front of his chest to indicate "Please!"

He understands instructions and is a wonderful little helper, bringing things back to the kitchen or helping to clear up the big messes after their mega play sessions.


















Social and Emotional Development
Muffin has a fiery temper. He gets pissed off when he doesn't get what he wants. He screams and he throws himself dramatically on the ground and wails. But it passes as quickly as it appears and he is soon laughing and has forgotten what he was so royally annoyed with.

But he has a great time playing with his two siblings. They fight a lot, he terrorises them with his teeth and he has no qualms hitting them. Nevertheless, his siblings include him in their games and he has learnt to play with them. Getting them to chase him. Seeking them out when they are hiding and waiting for them to catch him at the bottom of the slide.


















He is also happy to shower everyone with hugs and kisses, waving at strangers and giving everyone a nice big grin. But that is on condition that I am with him. Without me, he is suspicious and will not budge if a stranger approaches him. Thankfully, somewhat kidnap proof.

Kinesthetic Development

This is where Muffin excels. He walked at 8 months, started running at 1 and is one tough cookie. He has no fear and doesn't cry when he falls and hurts himself. The only time he really cried was when he whizzed down a wet slide so fast and landed on his face and bled through his gums and lips. Even Mommy cried with that one!

Anyway, our little Speedy Lightning McQueen owns the playground. He jumps, he hops, he throws balls and attempts to catch them. He goes up and down stairs with confidence only slightly less than his siblings 2 1/2 years older than he is. And he also does scary, heart stopping things like jump off the dining room chairs, my mattress which is about 2 feet off the ground and his latest- flipping himself backwards off the arm rests onto the couch.




The number of scraps he gets himself into running around like Speedy Gonzales and hunkering down to tackle whoever is in his way, I think I need to get him an American Football uniform to keep him safe from himself. Sigh. I miss Baby Muffin more than anything. The one who didn't bite and kick so much. But then when toddler Muffin flashes that toothy grin at me, it's hard to resist. He's totally got me suckered.



















Technorati Tags: 18 month old toddler, developmental milestones

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Good things come to those who wait.

It took 3 years to get the twins into their current kindergarten. It is the living in the west curse where the good schools have waitlists that could snake round SIngapore twice over. I tried to call when they were 9 months old to find out a little more about the school only to be told that they would be number 66 and 67 on the wait list.

So, while we waited, I put them in other schools that were less than desirable.

The first was a childcare playschool that had great and caring teachers but failed to meet the exacting grammar standards of a parent who is also an English teacher. It took all my restraint to not whip out a red pen and circle a poster that announced proudly that "SHEEPS eat grass". The only thing that stopped me was that my children were looked after by these teachers and I didn't want them poisoning my kids or anything.

The second was a highly desirable school by local standards but once again failed me, the parent who desired a creative and experiential learning experience for my children. So the school we were on wait list for rang to say they were ready for the twins, I grabbed them, turned tailed and ran away from the cloistered classrooms plastered with worksheets, dark corridors and severe lack of playground space.

So was the wait worth it?

In a nutshell, yes. No school is perfect and this school isn't either. But it's great by most standards and most clearly shown last Friday.

Friday was their project open house. For most of this term, they've been busy with projects, Jordan on flowers and Evan on sand. This meant field trips to the Botanic Gardens, planting sunflowers, eating sunflower seed sandwiches and craft, poetry and song about flowers for Jordan and a trip to the beach, a mega art project of a sandcastle in the sandpit and sand plaster craft also coupled with song and poetry.

Friday was their showcase. And Evan, my usually reticent in crowds Evan was flushed with excitement as he pointed out very knowledgeably all the different pieces that he had done. He told me about different sand textures and and showed me the plant he was growing. He was most proud of the mega sand castle that they had built in their sandpit and it was complete with moats and all.































Jordan, on the other hand, was a little bit distraught because I didn't make it in time to her class for her big show. The little show star was put right smack in the middle because she sang the loudest and was the most animated. But because her main audience wasn't around, she decided it wasn't worth performing. But even with her, I was floored by the chalk art that she had done, the little laundry bags with flower print and puff paint. And she was so obviously proud of what she had done and she could tell me exactly what she was doing in every photo that was put up on the wall.

































All in, it was great and I was happy to see that they were having so much fun learning. And because they are in different classes, they end up having more to talk about and tell with one another.
















I do hear that some of the children from the kinder find it a problem when they get to primary one because it is so regimented and so different from spending time walking round visiting the rabbit hutch and vegetable plots. On one hand, I want to worry about that but on the other hand, I wouldn't trade it for another different programme. More open house photos are on the JED Facebook page.

Technorati Tags: twins, school, learning through play

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Eat worms

I love that I can teach my kids silly things like that.



It all started with me moaning that "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms!" and eliciting the response of "Mommy! But I love you!!" and "Don't eat worms Mommy! You will get a stomach ache!" which I thought was very sweet and very funny!

Now, it's their favourite ditty and I love it!



Technorati Tags: twins, Nobody Loves Me Song

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