Fearsome Four

With 1 more month to the demise of the "Age of Terrible Two and Three", I must say I am looking forward to a more cultured, winsome four-year old. Or is that merely wishful thinking?

To quote Ed Polish and Darren Wotz "The first 40 years of parenthood are always the hardest". Oh God... that long for the tree to start to bear fruit?? We should have raised a pair of kitties.. at least they don't stump you with the depth of their response:

Q: "Arissa, please share your teddy bear/dollhouse/kitchen set with Adik"
A: "Caaaaannnnooooot. See this one tajam (sharp), wait she hurt herself!"

..or annoy you with endless "WHY"s when you're trying to concentrate on her movie choice. In fact, our telly set is perpetually tuned to her channels/movies. So much so, we have to ask her permission to watch ours.

Hafidz: "Sha, Daddy wants to watch Daddy's movie ok? This one cerita hantu (ghost story)"
Fearsome Four: "Eh, cannot cannot. I tengah tengok (am watching) Charlie and Lola. Five minutes k?"

And we know 4-year olds have no concept of time, so 5-minutes means when the credits roll for Charlie and Lola- 1 for Arissa, 0 for the Dunce Daddy.

..But speaking of hard, I suppose hardiness is one of the characteristics one will eventually develop as a Parent of a young child. Especially when the kid(s) get to a stage where they learn to manipulate your soft spots and disciplining them becomes even more traumatic for the Parent(s) than the Child. Which is exactly what happened to Hafidz and I.

Did I mention she has become the pickiest eater in the history of modern Singapore? Of late, sometimes just rice and plain clear soup- no chicken, no fish, god-forbid fragments of vegetables should be sighted- will be allowed past her esophagus. We have tried reasoning, cajoling, bribing, persuading, sometimes even laying a good 'ole smack on the bottom but nothing works.

Then on Sunday past, I reached my limit and banished her to a newly-designated 'Naughty Chair' for secretly spitting her food underneath my wing chair (apparently a frequent occurrence at Mum's too- all that spitting out). We also left her behind with the Helper when we took our after-dinner stroll to the Pasar Malam nearby. When I got home, our Helper said she sobbed herself to sleep and promised "Tomorrow I will be a good girl, bibik".

But when tomorrow rang around, Mum reported to me that Fearsome Four only ate 4 spoonful of macaroni and chicken soup, one of her favourite dishes. I called out to her:

Me: Hana, you promised to be a good girl today right?
F4: Yes Mummy
Me: Did you eat a lot today?
F4: (hesitating) ..No..
Me: Why not?
F4: Beeeeecause Nenek masak tak sedap (because I don't like Nenek's cooking)

Seriously!!!! Its worse then governing a country.

Munchkins by Bumblebeezack

Thanks Zack, for the pictures!

For more, click here.

Eid Mubarak

I say this every year- how disorganized we are that we never get a decent family photo each and every Eid.

The truth is- we had plenty of opportunities- but the ‘official photographer’ would much rather eat and be merry. Sometimes he doesn’t even bother to check the camera has fresh batteries so when the opportune moment comes along, we find ourselves faced with “Change new batteries” sign emblazoned across the 3” LCD monitor to my annoyance. *pulls out hair*

To top that off, Sofia began walking a few weeks before Eid and has been dubbed The Happy Wanderer- you usually find her in odd places i.e behind the curtain, under the table, inside someone's room, in the kitchen... we gave up trying to sit her still long enough for one snapshot, although you can't blame the MIL for trying:


Thank goodness for Facebook and the cousins who dutifully tag me/Hafidz! We lup you!









And the best part of Hari Raya? Counting alms that come in fancy green packets :D



Yippeee yeay! Next stop, to the bank.

Hamming it Up

It wasn't exactly a 'holiday' but it was a nice break from the routine.

I tried an adventurous route, travelling to KL by plane rather than the usual drive-up, wanting to con my brain into thinking this is a proper 'holiday'.

Like all other spiral-into-disaster episodes, "it seemed like a good idea at first" was my usual defense. Hafidz and I (and the rest of the 95 people on board Jetstar) have reached a consensus that its better to wait until Sofia is at least 2 or can sit still for longer periods of time (whichever comes first) before we hop on another flight. That way, perhaps she won't be screaming like a banshee the whole way.

*growl*

In retrospect though, I think both Arissa and the maid - at least- enjoyed the new experience although Hafidz and I were ready to jump off the flight somewhere above Malacca.

The wedding @ Putrajaya was super grand, and seeing all the cousins again after so long made the trip worth every penny and every tantrum. We reconnected with each other's lifestyle and marital status and kids and everything in between. Oh how much we have grown!!



The Bride was exceptionally beautiful and the whole ceremony took on a new meaning for old wedded couples like me. Aaah, to be so in love again... :)




Backstage, a whole lot of socialising was done on her behalf. Common activities include running, hiding, jumping, screaming in joy, mollycoddling and screaming in distress.




To my lovely cousin Atiqah and husband Effi, selamat pengantin baru from us (via karaoke)


and welcome to the mad (but very affectionate!) family.

CSI: Mummy

Crime Scene: Living Room
Date: Monday, 9 Aug 2010
Time: 1030h SGT

The victim (Hana Arissa) had spent about 10 minutes meticulously arranging the Evidence (bear's magnetic wardrobe). As she placed them in sequence of what to wear on Monday through Sunday, she warned the Perpetrator (Sara Sofia) not to meddle with her posession as this is tedious work and very hard labour- arranging wardrobe.

Without warning, the Perpetrator suddenly made a lunge and picked up a piece of the Evidence. She proceeded to leer and wave the incriminating piece in front of the Victim's face causing her to lose self-control.



The Victim then tried to push the Perpetrator to stop her from further damaging her possession, whereby both proceeded to scream in frustration. The Victim regained her prized possession from the Perpetrator who then, in anger and displaying no regard for bloodline..



..whacked the Victim with a plastic mouse.
On the head.
Hard.
Twice.
This caused severe pain- physical and emotional- on the part of the Victim. The Victim has had to undergo intensive psychological therapy with the CSI team on how to handle such a situation ("Learn to Share" being the mantra.)

This case is now closed with the arrest and incarceration of the Perpetrator who is charged with manhandling and lawlessness. She has been released on bail for 100 kisses until further court hearing.

Little Miss Maker

At the moment, Mister Maker is one of her favourite programmes.

When the show comes on, out comes the paraphernalia- an art-box from Toys R Us, the googly eyes and pipe cleaners from Daiso, the pieces of construction paper from Art Friend, the scissors, the glue, the crayons and marker pens. She makes an intolerable amount of mess, but in exchange for leaving her be, she gives me 20 minutes of peace to entertain Lil Sis.



What's great about the show is it reminds me of those days when I use to paw through the Bookworm Science Series and test out cool tricks like "Can You Pick Up an Ice Cube without Touching It with Your Fingers?". Its also family entertainment, even Sofia is engaged by Mister Makers' goofiness.

What's even greater is she gets so motivated by his energy, all I have to do is channel it in the right direction:

Helping Mummy prep the quail eggs for her sambal tumis.

Love & Marriage... and the Salacious Hens Nite.

What's a wedding without the notorious Hen's Nite stories for us girls to talk and laugh about over dinner and music?! That's like a horse without its carriage, says Frank Sinatra. Hold up, I think he was singing about Love and Marriage there. :>

Sapna & Gauri did well in selecting the location of Kanchan's Chickee Nite. I lurrrve the idea of a yacht party- its private, its convenient and we can get the bride-to-be as drunk as a skunk without the scrutiny of the outside world. Which is exactly what happened *lol*.





We even got her to do a 'strip' show ala Demi Moore in Indecent Proposal. Very apt I tell ya what with her getting married and all but, sadly, I am sworn to NEVER disclose the photographic evidence. All I can say is, she was forced to change into this sexy sailor outfit courtesy of Big Sis Sapna, the Deputy Porn Queen:


Here're the only Decent pictures I'm 'allowed' to release of the Hens Nite Party:






Now the wedding is something else! Like true Kanchan style, she refuses to be lumped with the other pleibeians and she dances to her own rhythm- it was a small affair held at The Hangout @ Emily Hill and the stunning Bride arrived decked in celebratory hues of red and gold, looking oh-so-demure!




Another beautiful location- rustic in the day and exotic by night, the weather held out and we had a ball of a time, plus the catered Moghul Mahal spread was just right for the breezy evening. We were even entertained by a little dance number/skit performed by the Bride and Groom- now WHO do you know would do that on their wedding day?!






Here's a toast to my baby girl & partner in crime. You know we waited so long for this wedding and held our breath through that roller-coaster long-distance/short-distance/on-again/off-again relationship but YOU GUYS MADE IT!!! *wooooooooot*

Samir: Grrrrr!
Kanchan: Eeehehehehe....

*Now I await the official photographs. Watch this space for updates!