by Penny on March 24, 2009
My boy was a handful when we travelled in the car down south over the weekend. He would usually fuss a little while if he got restless and would fall asleep somewhere in between the journey. However, this last trip was a tough one as he fussed and climbed out of his car seat and insisted on sitting on my lap.
We had to stop several times by the side to get him back into his seat and lecture/threaten him. Nothing worked. He would just fuss some more and continued to climb out again, and on to my lap. He was really trying my patience and at some point I was so annoyed that I even smacked his butt. But I don’t think it hurt because I was smacking only his diaper!
After much protests and “fights”, I gave up and just let him settle on my lap. Eventually, the kiddo was “tamed”. I don’t know if he tamed me or I tamed him. Let’s just say that mother and son were both tamed after much resistance. So how was it done? Like this…
Mother and son tired after a long battle in the car!
I just realised that this is my first “appearance” on my blog…and a second for the boy. Here’s his first appearance on this blog some time back.
by Penny on March 23, 2009
Over the weekend, we brought the little boy back to his daddy’s hometown to visit the grandparents. They’ve got a dog there and he loves that dog for no particular reason. He has never really touched that dog nor play with her, but yet he has never failed to mention her even when he goes on his routine wishing everyone in the family good night. The dog is always in his list.
So when we were back, he spent some time trying to get the doggie’s attention but at the same time feeling a litte wary of her. I think it’s because she barked at him a couple of times and he got a little scared. He would try to call out to her, offer her sweets and even the crumbs of his bread. But never once did he dare to venture near enough to her alone.
When he was younger, he was less scared of her. He used to enjoy looking at her scramble on her feet, running and hiding in between the outdoor furniture on the porch. He used to laugh when we made her run for something. But now, I think he would get a little scared. Perhaps this is all natural instincts of being possibly attacked by the dog?
I’m afraid of dogs, and this trait I see in him looks rather familiar to me. I would rather he grow up not having such fears and just enjoy himself playing with cats and dogs. But again, there’s always the danger of naive children being attacked by pets, however mild they may seem. So in a way, him being wary of them does give me some peace of mind, knowing that he won’t get near to them and provoke violence.
Maybe over time as he grows up he will learn to lessen the fear of the furry friend and at the same time have enough sense to never ever provoke any four-legged friends. You reckon?
by Penny on March 17, 2009
Look how sweet and cute this packaging of a fabric softener is (pictures below)! Snuggle Creme fabric softener (currently only available in the US, unfortunately) is a fabric softener that promises to leave your clothes soft and smooth as well as smelling sweet and fresh. How could you resist such a warm, fuzzy feeling? 
The new Snuggle Creme fabric softener comes in two flavours, the Jojoba Essence and the Sweet Almond Essence as pictured above. They not only come in liquid form, but also in sheets!
I actually won’t mind trying this fabric softener myself but I wonder if it will ever be brought onto the shores of Malaysia. I reckon this softener is also suitable for children’s clothes. I can never resist sweet smelling and soft clothes on my boy.
For US readers, have you seen this new product on the shelves yet? And if you’re thinking of giving this a try, here’s a little something that Snuggle Creme is offering to you – a $2 discount upon on your next purchase of Snuggle Creme fabric softener. Just click on the image below to go to the coupon page and fill out some information.
by Penny on March 17, 2009
As the little boy grows and learns everyday, we’re finding more and more joy in all the things he says and does. And kids these days definitely have a mind of their own at such a tender age! He’s not even two and he’s choosing which songs he wants to listen to when we play his nursery rhymes!
As a result, I have to learn by heart the track numbers of his favourite songs so that I don’t waste time having to keep searching to find the songs he wants. This doesn’t come easy for someone who doesn’t have that good memory, especially of late. I wonder if every parent must go through this stage where they need to start building up memory to deal with a kids who have such sponge-absorbing brains!
Nowadays, to keep him engaged and occupied, we also have to talk a lot more with him. We are now learning to be better conversationalists who can talk away at anything and everything, anytime! We’ve started making up stories just to keep him seated still for a little longer. Whenever he gets fussy in his car seat, we’ll need to quickly come up with something that will hold his interest. On days when I’m tired and low on ideas, I really dread jams or long distance travels. And don’t even think about taking the scenic routes on toll free roads when going out of town!
Having said all the above, it’s been really fun to interact with him at this stage. Everyday, he comes home from the babysitter’s with something new to amuse us. And although we’re tired from a long day at work, we still look forward to these moments with him. And as for the new skills we have to learn to be better parents, I guess they are rather useful in other aspects of our lives too. Who wouldn’t want to have better memory and everyone likes to have a great conversationalist amongst them to keep things fresh and lively, right?
Parenting does have many advantages and valueable lessons! 
by Penny on March 12, 2009
I’ve been tagged by Mum’s the word (or Pa) 5 months back to do a post on 7 random facts about me and I still haven’t done it! So here it is, the 7 random things about me. Don’t get bored and fall asleep reading, ok?
1. I can laugh non-stop for minutes on end, and sometimes the thing that tickled me isn’t exactly that funny. Back in my primary school days, a teacher once complained to my mum that I disrupted the entire class period she was teaching because I laughed non-stop at something that she did and she couldn’t continue teaching because I just kept bursting into laughter not long I manage to stop! Each class lasted 45 minutes, and I laughed the entire time!
2. Some years back I quarrelled with a traffic policeman for not letting me pass when he had just let other cars in front of me go through. When he threatened to give me a summon for arguing with him, I told him to do so. Only after spotting the pistol tucked in his belt did I suddenly feel nervous. What if he got crazy and pulled out his gun at me? At that thought, I decided to just give up and drive off. Am I crazy or what?
3. I cannot stand injustice, rudeness and bad customer service. I would go to all lengths just to make my point about how unhappy I am with bad service being rendered. I’m not a trouble-maker and I don’t enjoy making a scene out of a small thing, but I always believe in standing up for what should be.
4. I’m a true CSI fan and I’m quite upset that Grisom will be leaving the show in the new season now showing on Astro. I take these shows quite personally as I get very absorbed when watching them. Each week, the CSI episodes get screened 3 times on Astro, once during the actual day and twice more on repeat on Sundays. If I’m home and free during the time they are aired, I will be watching them again and again. So, for each episode, I could be watching it 3 times in a week! But that does not break my record of watching the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and my favourite sitcom “Friends” repeatedly over the years. So much so that I have actually memorised some of the dialogues!
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