Atonement Gingerbread men

So if you read my last post about keeping my sanity you'll see I had a bit of an emotional, roller coaster ride which taught me about how I needed to reconnect with my kids.

Hence, what better way to show your kids you love them by staying up till 3 in the morning baking gingerbread cookies while they were asleep and waiting for the cookies to cool so you could hide them?

Try this great recipe out and if you like you can switch out the golden syrup for raw honey and the light brown sugar for dark sugar.  (like I did)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gingerbread_men_99096

1 teaspoon of ground ginger is about right for kids to tolerate but if I made another batch for me I'd put in 2 teaspoons.

Great texture,  short bake time.  Make whatever shapes you like...  I actually made some star shaped cookies from this dough too for my teenage girls to enjoy.

Nothing says love like mama's baking.

Happy Friday y'all.  Xoxo xoxo

Saving my sanity

4 year olds are a force to be reckoned with. Lately, I'd been on the losing end of a twin terror tag team - getting ready for preschool was a vein busting shouting match. Getting them to eat breakfast was like asking them to put dirt in their mouths (not like I ever did, but you know, it was a jam sandwich and girl twin had to cry a river just to have 3 bites so we could head out the door?). Commuting on the train was me versus them versus the staring fellow commuters. *groan* You get the picture...

Then one evening I just about had enough and went kinda ballistic shouting,  "That's it! I'm going straight to the shops and buying a cane!!"  Did I get the terrified response and pleas I hoped for? No. They giggled like I said the funniest thing on earth. Diabolical I tell you.

I was still fuming when I picked up the slender 2 foot long smoothened bamboo. As I held it in my hands walking up and down the aisle buying random things - a measuring tape ( cos I couldn't find the one I had at home the last I wanted to use it) and a plastic converted toilet roll dispenser (wow I've finally found it!), I was tapping myself oaths calves worth that tool of discipline trying to walk off my fury.  I must've been a sight because the store staff were watching me as I paced holding this strange array of provisions.

I go back upstairs and aren't the twins just happy as clams.  Impervious to how mad they made me all the way home after work and school. I soften. Why do they have to look so cute?

I whip the cane about in the air and lay down the law,  "The next time you do this that and the other you guys are gonna get it!" Boy twin smiles like I've made a promise to bring him to the candy store of he's good. I give up.

Then I think,  "Do I really want my kids terrified of me because I can inflict bodily hurt on them as punishment?" 

I hide the cane in the store room or of sight. Out of my sight.  I never want to use that on them.

They finish up dinner , I go have a shower and some thinking time on the loo ... Then I find these Facebook pages called Tru parenting &  Joyful courage.

I realized I had been totally disconnected from my kids for a while because of work and my own distractions. I forgot what joyful children they were when we used to play together... When was the last time I really played with them? I couldn't remember. (Cue emotional mum in the shower now)

So I sorted myself out. I was going to go back out there and just live them. Then followed a peaceful night. Bath time and tooth brushing done without years and without a fight. All I was doing was holding their hand in mine, looking them in the eyes and smiling, kissing them... And letting our hearts connect again with gentle words and forgiveness of myself
and them... Though they were just being 4 year olds.

I was the one that needed that cane. Just to remind me of what I didn't want parenting to be like.

Putting up a Christmas tree with three year olds ... Fun & Frantic

So my Christmas tree was given a three year hiatus with the arrival of my twins, who are now three and a half years old.

This Christmas I decided they ought to be old enough to help with decorating it and that they'd appreciate what a fun activity I had allowed them to partake in.

It was fun... For about 15 minutes. Then the living room was a garlanded, bauble booby trapped land of terror.

Girl twin stayed on task for about 5 minutes into opening up the branches before deciding that she was going to be the photographer for this momentus event.

She decided that taking a picture of the nail plug and the hole in the wall was more interesting than Christmas tree decorating...  

Boy twin surprised me with how much longer he stayed interested and how much more perseverance he had in doing the repetitive, boring and prickly chore before the fun stuff came out of the boxes. 

Somehow it went very quickly from this...

To this...

Every bauble was crash tested. Dare I say, plastic is the only choice when it comes to decorating with toddlers and young kids. Maybe wood and even some metals? But glass decorations won't be seen in this house for at least another decade I'm predicting.

Nonetheless, boy twin was sweet and endured pretty much till the end and was interested enough to choose a tree topper amongst what we had. He was even willing to give the star that he'd initially chosen, a little wipe before I helped put it up.

Girl twin was squishing the bejeebees out of Rudolph's pom pom nose, which soon was no where to be found.

Farewell brave friend...you have fought the good fight.

Anyways, though it quickly went from, "Would you like to help me hang this here  sweety?" to "I SAID DON'T THROW THAT / BOUNCE THAT / STEP ON THAT / PUT THAT IN YOUR MOUTH!!!!" it was still a fun 2 hours spent on a Saturday morning. 

And since the tree was going in the corner... We only decorated two thirds of the tree. ;) why waste time decorating the part no one can see?? 

My quick tips for putting up a Christmas tree with your kids:

1. Take only the tree out first and then 1 small amount of decorations out. When the first lot is on the tree, take the 2nd lot out. It's all about regulating otherwise kids can kinda get over stimulated seeing all the baubles, glittery garlands and cutesy ornaments out all at once.

2. Test your strings of light before putting them on the tree. I strung 2 strings on, just to find out after, that only 1 string worked. Also this part I recommend doing before the baubles or garlands go on... Without too much help from the munchkins.

3. Don't be surprised if your child hasn't the focus or perseverance to get through the whole process. Let him do what he can then thank him for helping. Secretly reposition the 10 baubles he hung on the same branch without him around.

4. Designate sections to different kids and allot batches of decorations so that they don't rush to snatch up that only pink bauble in the sea of blue baubles and crash the tree inadvertently.

Girl twin's photo of the decorations

5. Speaking of decorations, I can't emphasize enough - plastic, plastic plastic. Reuse if you can or else arrange a bauble swap with some friends to freshen up the Christmas tree deco theme.

6. The tree topping & light up is the most special part... Invite your child to sit back and admire their "work" after everyone has also chipped in on cleaning up.

First he wanted this star, but then chose the cherub when he realized there was one in the box

Have a fun Christmas everyone! Happy holidays!!

Stop Shushing Me!!

My gosh... Have you ever had that annoying librarian shush your 2 year old at the children's section of the library and you're like...he's a kid, he doesn't know that he can whisper!

Thankfully though, libraries are evolving... as are the librarians.

The Jurong Regional Library has just opened an amazing children's section down in Basement 1 (Yup, keep them noisy buggers underground whilst the rest of the world reads some Deepak Chopra in blissful and tranquil armchairs upstairs).

I have yet to bring the twins to go "Tasmanian Devil" on their gorgeous set up, but truly, this was a space that showed acceptance and love for children to be children. Check out these pictures of the space you can enjoy with your kids this weekend.

So here's what it looks like on the outside... you can get there by taking the MRT to Jurong East and walking through the JCube Mall. (look out for the exit after Yamazuki bakery. The library's just across the road from there>)

Extra points for the designated stroller bay in basement 1 just before you enter the main reading area.

Then you see wonderful spacious areas for different activities and literacy enhancing activities, like this dramatic-play theaterette, where your kiddos can don costumes and use hand puppets to act out the stories you're reading to them.

I love the theaterette ambience... 

All I could think of when I saw the puppets and costumes was, "I wonder how much cleaning up the librarians are going to have to do. How are they going to disinfect these things anyway?"

BUT the kids will definitely love them!

Lots of space for adults to make themselves comfy too...

Little fingers will enjoy the activity boards on the walls

Love the toys on the wall :) 

They even have a section to encourage literacy in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil... I particularly liked the cubes suspended from the ceiling with the characters from the different languages.

Kid sized toilets and sinks are great to have. So that you needn't be livid when your toddler has to go and you've got to prop him up onto the adult-sized toilet and he plops in and his bottom touches the water in the bowl and the ensuing growl of OCD disgust makes people stare at you like you're a mad woman... just saying... *ahem*

And then you can enjoy lunch at the Cafe Galilee on Level 1, which has a great selection of easy eats at prices that aren't too bad for the generous portions. I think the drinks and desserts are a little over priced though but they are good.

So enjoy this new kid-friendly library down at Jurong Regional Library soon...before all the puppets get grubby and have fun reading and playing without being shushed!

Awesome parents read to their kids. Have a good one!

Dolls that last and last and last...

If you have any sort of commuting to do with toddlers, you know you have to be armed with something to keep them occupied along the way.

The Double-G tag team

Today, Giselle (from the Disney movie Enchanted) and toddler Gingerbread boy (lets just call him George) are our chaperones. I know, I know...Giselle has really let herself go since settling down in "normal life". 

Gingerbread boy is about 10 years old and Giselle, only 7. Grandma had bought George for my two older girls when they were maybe 6 or 7 years old. He's held up pretty well because he was hardly played with really. 

Giselle on the other hand was a doll my husband bought for the second oldest (Miss N) when the movie came out and she loved it lots. 

Once the girls evolved from tweens into teens, the Barbie dolls and toys gradually got packed away. When they were growing up, they even had hand-me-down Barbies from my own childhood. These things just last and last! So now, the twins have hand-me-downs from their older sisters which obviously doesn't bother them one bit. 

But it did get me thinking about how much plastic goes into making these dolls and how many millions of these childhood playthings get tossed into the trash once their once loving owners outgrow them. The S$20 (or US$10) that's spent on one of these dolls is really billions of dollars worth of landfill cost and environmental hazard costs. Those Barbies my mother had kept for my older girls were "recycled" to a family in Indonesia after sifting out the ones my youngest girl wanted. I do wish I had straightened out the old dolls' hair first. Learn how to refresh your old Barbie doll's matted hair here. I'll be trying it on Giselle soon so that she doesn't look so raggedy and will be rightfully restored to her royal princess beauty. Right now she looks like dumpster princess.

I came across some other interesting upcycling of Barbie dolls at Waste Connect such as making jewellery out of Barbie doll parts... um, okay. Creepy much? 

 

(Photo credits to © Margaux Lange 2014. )

But oh well, just try to remember that these toys that bring our children but a moment's pleasure in their whole lifetime really chalks up a huge lot of plastic waste. So, before you go to the toy department, try to find some hand-me-downs or "recycled toys" (Or more recently termed "pre-loved toys") from sellers who haven't the heart to bin them and do your part in saving our earth AND appeasing your fussy toddler at the same time (at a fraction of the retail price, I might add!) 

Awesome parents Save the Earth!! Happy Weekend everybody!

Hop on the Eyeliner Express

Today started really well. Well it started great from last night since I finished the last of my overdue course assignments and ate three quarters of a family sized bar of milk chocolate (hey, brain food you know?!)

3 socks is just right

• I woke up early (despite disrupted sleep spanning all of 5 hours -thanks again to that overdose of sugar and cocoa) 
• Cooked an awesome dinner that's going to be waiting for me when I get home tonight (I wanted to post pictures of my spicy tom yam style soup and stir fried cabbage but that would've made me late and my phone was charging anyway)
• The kids got ready for school fairly fuss free (maybe only a 4 on a scale of 1 - 10) and 3 yr old Mr. I, insisted on wearing 2 socks on 1 foot and 1 on the other...all 3 of different colours. I let him because it's fun and cute and I didn't have time to insist on him adhering to the norm. (Not that he has to at 3 yrs old anyway... When else in his life can he get away with this right?)
• We managed to take the train instead of a cab ($14 saved! Woot woot!) 

GIMME!!!

And as I put my make up on in the train and the twins have a book each (still trying to snatch the other's of course but that was settled reasonably without me having to yell), I thought to myself, "Wow! I wish I could take a picture of me before and after my 15 minute make up routine and explain to mothers rushing to work everywhere that you really don't have to care what other commuters think cos you win - getting the kids settled and happily on the way to work and using commute time for self-grooming and not looking like a mess when you get there."

Then I chanced upon this video. What could you be doing instead of self-grooming? and I felt really accomplished! This habit of putting my make up on during commutes to work has always saved me time and given me some awesome eye liner control skills. It's like I've got built-in suspension in my arm now - be it moving car or train, that eye liner is going on, baby! I do everything from the concealer under my eyes to the lipstick on prepped lipbalmed lips. The twins usually want some lip balm too so that's worked into the make up routine. 17 years I've been doing this so I'm an expert of sorts you could say... after a while, you realize that nobody's actually looking. I always fantasize about someone taking a video of me whilst I go from bleah to bam! and posting it on youtube or something and some beauty magazine will want to interview me for my super make up on a moving train skills... Yeah, right. The caption for that video would be something more like "Mother with twins struggles to get make up on whilst breaking up a toddler tussle"...so exciting.

eye liner express

Yes we don't really NEED make up but it's nice to feel like we can do something for ourselves for 15 minutes and not "lose productivity". 

So, like Tracey Spicer says in the video - just minimize it to what you can get by with and don't give a damn about the bullshit that society expects of you. 

And give yourself a pat on the back for being awesome yet again!! ;)

Parents need to be Rhinos

What are some of the most embarrassing questions your kids have asked you in public? Especially when in a crowded train or waiting at a bus stop full of people... or even better, when everyone's praying in church. 

In my 17 years of parenting, these have been our super "I wish I had a bag over my head now" moments... 

1. Mommy, why do you have a bum bum? ~ Miss J at 3 years old in a crowded train.
2. Mommy, the sperm swims to the egg right? ~ In a crowded bus, thanks to school teaching about human reproduction when Miss E was 8 years old.
3. Dad, this is where Aunty Nancy used to stay with Uncle Luke right? ~ Whilst in the cab with Aunty Nancy's new boyfriend Uncle Mel... then when gestured to shush up, Miss E at 9 years old says "Oh you mean Uncle Mel didn't know about Uncle Luke?" *facepalm*
4. "So big! So big! Why? Why Mommy? Why??" ~ Mr. I at almost 2 years old when a large woman entered the elevator with us.

Ah... memories. Parents really need to have skin as thick as a rhino's hide and the social cool to answer such questions without lying... somehow.

Well take a tip from Ellen Seidmen on handling the most embarrassing moments with your kiddo without embarrassing yourself. 

And laugh yourself silly when you remind the lil' Miss or Mister about their unabashed questions when they're 17 years old... like I did. Hahaaaa

Things I wish I could do for my kids

I subscribe to plenty of early childhood education and home schooling blogs, websites and Facebook pages - everything ranging from teaching the Reggio Emilia way to funtastic art & craft ideas from preschool aged children.

I get so many wonderful, awesome articles and ideas everyday but except for making play dough and cornstarch goop I haven't really gone far with doing anything more. Sound familiar? I'm so glad we're on the same wavelength here. 

I would love to hear how you cope as working parents, parenting toddlers... did I mention that my toddlers are twin 3 year olds? Like, how do you get to work on time? How do you have enough energy to wake up at the crack of dawn to get your kids ready for school AND get to work on time? How do you even have time to eat? Or do you eat at all?? I know some days it feels like this but to those of you coping without help at home, you are my idols! Making these DIY toys and crafts are waaaaay down the list...

Despite the lack of energy, time and resources to do more, we can always admire and dream of the creativity and handiness these "super craft moms" possess. 

However, with the weekend soon upon us maybe we could gather a few things on lunch break or on the usual marketing trip to make these super duper amazing fun Discovery Bottles by Familylicious and buy ourselves that 15 minutes of peace to have lunch... at 5 o'clock in the afternoon... 

Magical Science Discovery bottles by Familylicious... Heck, I'd love to play with these to destress!

:) Happy days awesome imperfect parents! Keep on keeping on.