New Taste

Needing more apples, I was contemplating if I should again, bring Renee to Punggol Plaza for our lunch - she's partake in my lunch of sliced fried fish yee mee before. However, she's quite lost interest in that and requested that I cooked her meal and that she'd rather forgo the apples for one day hahaha. However, remembering that she now likes the luncheon meat, I put the spinach and fish that I'd prepared, back to the fridge and decided to give her luncheon meat sandwiches, :)(I had suggested to her last evening that one day, should we really go for our long-talked abt picnic, she could have luncheon meat with bread and she told me that she's actually tried it at aunty pc's and it's sooo yummy, hahaha).

*Last night, when I told Daddy about it, he said that I could also put the luncheon meat in her porridge but I told him, I really wouldn't like her to take such food unless I really can't help it...

She really enjoyed her 'luncheon' today and with a good mood perhaps, she had gone on with her practice pretty well even though we've got home later(cos of her wanting to stop-by the make-shift stalls before we got our groceries). But, I don't think it's good enough for her to get her star pass for this song... This is abit tougher and she's tried and done her practice, so I'm ok. I just hope she won't break her 'maximum 2 wks to get a star pass on a song' record, *crossing fingers*, :P. But I already see 'new' things to be learnt from the next song!...

Back to the food topic, it seems like Renee's taste bud has taken a change and those food/fruits/vege that she used to like, she now dislike and those that she had disliked, she now asked for them...

Just for example(merely for this comparison purose,list does not include those food she still enjoys eating now or at least I think, still :>) :

What she used to like but don't quite enjoy now - Green Pear, Cai Sim, Cherry Tomatoes

What she hadn't like but really likes now - Luncheon meat, dark soya sauce(with her porridge, she can simply eat porridge plain just with it hahaha), Terriyaki sauce(everything taste sooo yummy with it, hahaha), Chicken Wings/Pork Chops(well, these are heaty stuffs though), ermmm, for the time being, these are what I can think of, heee.

Actually, we found her taste buds quite similar to her daddy's especially when they both dun quite like food that are too sweet and prefer saltish food. Maybe that's why she's more willing to try daddy's food than mine, hahaha.

She's self-fed herself at dinner time these 2 days, but with her request of watching the TV acceded. However, lately she seemed to have cut short on her morning/later evening tv shows and go for her Darby, Winnie Pooh & friends show(more on the morning one since the evenings' are repeats) - well, that's a good thing to me, hopefully she'll keep it that way...

Still Coughing

I'm still coughing. Maybe it's because I've asked for milder medication when I consulted the GP last week...

Today, I went back for something stronger and hopefully it'll clear up my cough and phlegm. *Geez, the medical cost sure is high here, just for a normal cough, I already have to pay S$75 for these 2 trips.

Anyway, due to driving, I've requested for medication that wouldn't cause drowiness earlier but unfortunately, it didn't work that way for me. I still felt alittle dizzy with the earlier set of medication. Not really sure if it's pyschological but when I checked with the doc, she told me that none of earlier prescription should and that the new set of medication should not too. However, some people will actually still get that effect and she said that I'd be most likely be feeling abit more from the newly ones then(different people react differently to certain medications). Haiz, guess I'll just have to take those at bedtime then...

Whilst waiting for my turn, I saw a kid being put on nebuliser and curious on its usage/effect, I took it up with the GP and she explained that it's normally prescibed when one's asthmatic or has bronchitis and thinking that I was asking for myself, she said "not for your kinda cough though", hahaha. I told her that I'm not asking for myself but am looking for the correct answer to its usage. Partly also because Renee's cough is also back and I wanna get some info first JUST in case the PD would prescribe it('cos might be bringing Renee back there but will try the medication she gave the last time - stl got bal cos stopped to take the ch ones). So now at least I have a better idea...

I also took the opportunity to checked with her on the difference of a persistant cough and bronchitis('cos I've had that before and being a layman, I obviously can't tell) and she told me that they'd go for the listening of our breathing - if we're using more muscles to do so, any wheezing, etc...

Daddy used to say that I've alot of questions, but hey, that's how we learn/gain knowledge rite? And this is just one very good example, ain't it? :)

Blunders, Blurr?(Just for Laughs)

Oh, it's really quite a funny sight when your kid wanna walk 'through' the glass panel!

After our dinner, I was looking at the display at one of the jewellery shop and suddenly I heard a 'bom' and the drawing Renee's been holding dropped to the floor. Looking down, I realised that our dear girl had bumped her head to the glass panel, hahaha, ooops, heee, perhaps I shouldn't be laughing but she was laughing at her own blunder too! :D. The salesgirls must have either heard the 'bom'(though it wasn't that loud actually) or saw us laughing away whilst I hugged Renee that they came to check out. They also laughed when they realised what's happened but they were more amused that Renee was also laughing at herself.

Back home, Renee, upon my reminder, took her socks to the kitchen but instead of putting them into her pail of soiled clothes, she dumped them into the dustbin! hahahahaha. I hadn't noticed it till I saw her quickly turning back and muttered a "Oopsy!" and before long, she was seen stepping onto the dustbin's step, bent over and took out her pair of socks with a 'oh no' look on her face, really funny, hahahahaha.

A broken shaft

A few days ago, I've spoken to Renee about her requests to do things with her papa and so, she made her daddy promised that Sundays will be our family day(well, hopefully he's able to keep to his promise, although he had gone out a short while to tend to some work this afternoon) instead of golfing early morning every week. Earlier on, whilst she was persuading him to make the commitment, she has told him that he could just stay home and play golf with her, hahaha(to her, family day means staying at home together, how sweet...) and she indeed made him do that with her this afternoon. However, one strong drive and she broke the shaft of one of her plastic clubs(the actual one's still in our store 'cos it's too heavy for her still) and when I reminded her to throw it away just now, she pouted : "but it's my super swing club"..... hahahahaha.

A Long Story... :)

Not all had gathered at our mom's today, we left earlier and that gave me more time after we've finally settled down and when Renee pulled out an 'old' story book for me to read, I decided to read her one from the recent fairy tales story book.

With the warm weather, we had the air-conditioned switched on for the first time since many months. This is not the usual short sentences per page kinda story and perhaps she's new to the 'lonnng' story telling and in the cool room, Renee soon 'dreamed' away sleepily when I was only half way through with the story, hahaha. But just as I've thought that it's gonna be easy and that I could soon leave her in the room sleeping when she decided to have another story told(of cos I stucked to the one story only, besides, she's actually sleepy already).

Prior to the reading, I brought this out for her to play with - something which I had thought to get for her but her cousins gave her for X'mas(since she's been asking for beads and string to make necklaces for a while now) :

More Books?

Have received the Scholastic book club's mail order form from the school last week and unlike those times when we were with GUG, no-0ne's to guide us here as to which books would be fun/nice to read for/with our children. So, to spare myself from the mistake of ordering some 'too complicated' books again, I've decided to give it a miss this time round and joined online spree for some books from the Book People(UK). Hopefully these would be fun books, :).

Friday Cuppas

Since school has resumed for the current term, I've been meeting mommy Janice at the school 'cos it seems that she's now trying to bring Jerome to school on time, hurray, well done! heee. And because of that, we've been going for a cuppa since 2 Fridays ago. I've arranged today's meetup with her briefly earlier this week but we didn't really re-confirm it as I've thought that it's set, hahaha. So, whilst watching the assembly this morning, I waited for her but I guess it's because I've not text her about the meetup again, she's planned to boil soup. We still went for our break though and her returning home gave me the opportunity(that I've been meaning to but always forgot) to visit her home and liking her arts ideas(some stuffs she's picked up from the pre-sch education programme), I suggested perhaps we could arrange a little art-y playdate sometime.

The weather these days had been really hot and not wanting to return home with the requested packed char-siew rice, Renee and I went over to the mall for our meals instead - bad choice of food selection as my sore throat is back now...

Back home, Renee was again fussing about her practice but though it was a short one today, she's playing the song alot better, *phew*.

A Wonder Nap

Renee has done away with her afternoon naps since mid last year and it's only occasionally that she takes her nap, which can be pretty rare. Today, with the medication and not enough sleep, she fell asleep almost instantaneously in my arms(yes, just this once, she had allowed me to rock her to sleep, hahaha) and although I had to struggle to wake her up, it wasn't before long when she's at her best behaviour, and for throughout the evening! Woah, was that a wonder nap or what? How I wish that she could be like this all the time, :D.

Hmmm, this makes me think that perhaps I should really consider changing her violin lessons to the weekends... :(

What to play?

I had a talk with daddy last night about it and he had suggested letting her go through both instruments so as to enable her to choose, but what will that leave me? If I play the piano or even the violin, I guess I would glady jump at such an idea but being not musically trained, it's gonna be tedious for me(at my age!) to learn both!(so as to guide her). So yes, it's still violin, for the time being(until such time if she tells me and strongly, that she wants to learn the piano) - based on what's narrated below, :D.

When I picked her up from school today, I had anticipated the fuss but when I was strapping her to the car-seat, I've asked her what we are to do when we got back and she replied : "mum mum first, then practice".

After her meal, I see that she's also not protested when I told her to get into the room to prepare the 'stuffs' and she played the whole song today! Although it wasn't fantastic but then it's certainly a good attempt and after a few rounds of practice, it got better.

We've both just woken up from our naps(she came back with a runny nose, so I gave her the drowsy medication) - ya, wasted my efforts excercising, to go nap with a tummy filled with a pack of beehoon with porkchop, hahaha. And right now, even as I'm sitting here typing this post away(whilst waiting for her dinner to be cooked), guess what? She's playing her toys - using the frying pan as a violin!

Kids!...

A Switch of Instrument?

Oh, I hope not! hahaha.

After another week of missed lesson, Renee was beginning to feel bored with practicing the theme of Twinkle2 Little Star(the last part of this song - total 5 parts), she learnt a new song today - 'Lightly Row'.

This song requires one to change notes abit faster, so that gives co-ordination(of fingering the notes with her left hand and bowing with the right hand) a higher challenge and either it's because of her 'perfectionist'(as per Ms Mok) nature/fear of mistakes/incapability to do it, she displayed unwillingness to try again after the first round. We hoax-ed, we coax-ed and it got to a point that I scolded her abit and told her that perhaps she should stop learning. Ms Mok must have sensed my frustrations(since I'm the one who's coaching her on the playing all these while) and here's our conversation:

Ms Mok : "Is she like that when practicing at home?"

Me : "Ya, sometimes when she's lazy and usually need more coaxing when it's the beginning of a new song that's difficult for her"

Ms Mok : "If you're still keen in letting her go on with music and if you want an easier way, maybe you can consider letting her take up piano lessons instead. It's alot easier since there's no need for her to 'create' the tune and also need not have do a longer or shorter note, faster, slower... It's already there, A here, B there, blah blah, she just have to know where they are..."

Me : (turning to Renee) "would you like to learn piano?"

Renee : *shaking her head*(whilst looking at Ms Mok playing the keys on the piano)

Ms Mok : "Actually, she's talented and she can do it if she wants. Kids at this age usually need pushing. I have quite a number of students whose parents pushed them pretty hard. Besides, they have tanthrums, sometimes it gets better when they are around higher primary school level. She picks up very fast and I have students whom are older than her and they took a longer time than her to grasp but she really needs to pick up her confidence to perform and also to try"

Ms Mok has also suggested a change of lessons' timing as Renee seems to be grouchy at times(yes, especially if she happened to have slept late at 11pm and woke up at 9am+ that day). So, for someone who likes to keep the weekends off for the kid, I'd have to work this out...

I'm not sure if Renee's able to take up yet another instrument but her daddy strongly believe that she could. However, I'm not up to it, to learn another with her nor am I going to go through 2 with her!!! Anyhow, when the time comes when they have to play the piano with both hands, it will still take some coaxing again I guess. Anyway, it's either she learns to play the violin or the piano... Maybe I should let her take up a couple lessons to see if she likes it?(can we really tell from that couple of lessons I wouldn't bet on it either, haiz....).

Meantime, I have to try and find a way to help her curb her fear of performing infront of others and with that subdued, it might help to build up her fear of making mistakes so she'd be more willing to 'try' infront of the teacher.

After the lesson, we went over to Compass Point to get some stuffs and when we got home after our dinner, she was surprisingly willing to go with her practice. However, she fussed when I corrected her and cried when I scolded her for throwing tanthrums, so I talked to her :

Me : "why you cry?"

Renee : "because it's difficult, and you stop me'

Me : "I stopped you so you can listen to my humming and get your long/short bowing right, you're playing too fast, there's no need to play so fast"

Renee : "but I can't..."

Me : "don't always say you can't when you havn't even try. When you first started on your twinkle2 song, you also found it difficult right? Remember variation B? It was more difficult for you then 'cos you even have to do the 'up bow' for the first time right? But look at how well you're playing it now. You can do it, just have to practice"

Renee : "....."

Me : "why you didn't want to try and play when we were at Ms Mok's place?"

Renee : "because I'm afraid that I make mistakes"

Me : (awwww)..... "darling, you don't have to be afraid, everyone makes mistake. Mommy doesn't know how to play, that's why we let you go to Ms Mok there, for her to teach you. I can only guide you on your practices. Ms Mok can tell you the correct and proper way to do it when or if you don't do it correctly. It's ok to do it wrong especially when you're new to it, just have to keep trying"

Renee : *Cry more*

Me : "........."

Anyway, after abit of coaxing, prep-talk and sayang-ing(she claimed that that's the only way to make her stop crying...), she did the first 2 lines of the song after 3-4 rounds of playing! See! Haiz.... I'm going to vomit blood soon....