Blessed By Friends

I’m so blessed.  Whatever I’m lacking seems to be zero because of friendships that God has blessed me with over the years.   As I look back at my birthdays this last 4 years, I have been blessed with mini-celebrations which really surprised and touched my heart.

2009 (this year) >>> Part 1::: B & C

Today was a playgroup day but I didn’t want to skip it.  C hosted and said she would be serving Nasi Lemak.  She doesn’t have a live in help and I thought it would be lots of work.  So I took it for granted that she probably packed.

Surprise surprise! She did everything! From the rice, to fried and sambal chicken, to sayoh lodeh, ikan bilis, eggs, she did it all!  We normally use disposables, but today she wanted to use proper plates and cutlery, to pamper me.

Probably those who do not have maid will be able to truly appreciate the amount of work one has to put in to place all these dishes on the table.  And I certainly understand the tremendous amount of effort put in.

I’m really touched to tears.  (Sobbing sobbing sobbing)

B & C::: you have no idea, but after putting kids to sleep, as I sat down and thought about today, tears just flowed and flowed.  I’m really thankful to both of you and all your efforts and your supports all these years.

2009 >>> Part 2::: My dear J

9:16pm – J called and said she was at my door!  Again, surprise, surprise!  We have already fixed to meet next week, but she said nothing beats popping by on the actual day.

Note > J live at one end of the island, while I live nearly the other end.  J doesn’t drive, and with 3 kids at home, she has to take a cab.  Taxi to my home to and fro cost about $30!

J::: I was writing this entry, and tears was still flowing down my cheek when you appeared.  I said I gonna rest today and house be messy, and you are the witness today 😉 Thank you so much for the friendship & love.  Thank you for being there for me.  And thank you for being here today.

2008 >>> My dear neighbour

It was the end of the day, my neighbour’s daughter told my son  a secret!  So cute that this pair of friends actually shared a secret.  Well, truth was, she and her parents planned a surprise birthday cake cutting for me last year. Totally unexpected.

K, R & your little Princess P::: I’m so blessed to have your family as my neighbour.  In fact we are more than just neighbours, we are family!  It is such a joy to see our children grow up together.  Your family is one of the reasons I’m still hanging around this estate.

2007 >>> My poly friend, SH

She was supposed to come to my home for a lunch, and she brought a long a birthday cake 🙂

SH::: You have been the one keeping the poly gang together and initiating many of the meet ups.  It has been such joy to grow up together with you, from being students, to working adults, dating youngsters, married women, and now mummies.  Our days together is one of the most unforgettable moments in my life.

2006 >>> With my cell members

Celebrated during cell meeting.  If I’m not wrong, we were at Secret Recipe.

CT, YC & SL::: Thank you so much for being my prayer support during those time when I’m weak and for bearing with my frank and honest personality.  You trio has helped me keep my path with God during all these years.

FRIENDS::: you have all brought smile to my otherwise ordinary birthdays.  Nothing is more precious than the love and friendship you have all given me.

AND MY DEAR CHILDREN::: EZ, both of you have put in extra efforts today to make it as pleasing as possible.  I’m so blessed to have such understanding and thoughtful children.  You are both my driving force.

Being Maidless 3

1 day at a time, 1 week at a time, 1 month at a time, and it has been 2 months now.

Hmmm…. the things that I have done in this last 2 months seem to be more than when I have maid!!!

> Pulled through my first ever Easter Party at my home with party programmes.  My guests, which are all children already asked when will be the next party 😛

> E’s birthday party.  E wanted to have a party with his classmates, so we invited his whole class – I left this to the pro to do, no way would I be able to handle the boys!!!

> Volunteered for E’s school outing and Learning Festival – in laws helped to take care of Z

> Waves after waves of tests and exam preparation from my own son and my 3 other students (thank God that all of them have exams on different dates, so I have time for each of their extra lessons.)

> Homeschooling with Z is simple, but 0n the road towards reaching my goal for her this year.  🙂

> Will be attending Post Encounter from this Sunday onwards

> Needed to survive on instant noodles on 2 meals ONLY!!! (anyway, our household take instant noodles top with veg and egg once a month when we had maid).

> My plants are blooming and flowering (my maid used to take care of them, and I really thought I gonna kill them all once I take over. Hee hee, in fact, my plants are doing much better now! So my hands are quite green afterall 😉 )

> My house is cleaner – no joke!  What can one expect from maids right?! So many places left uncleaned.  I have to change my pail of water so frequently.

> I save up more money :D, and also have more breathing space financially.

> AND….. it is tiring!!!!!BUT, happy.

> I still don’t get angered as frequently as I did when I had a maid.  So, between being tired and being angered, I rather be tired.

> I dug out some ‘worms’!!! Found out and realised certain not so nice things that my ex-maid did to our family.  Arrrrrgh… This is really the main thing that is putting me off employing another maid.

what about the erm……

~ house is not as tidy – dining table where the kids use to do their work is often filled with books and stuffs, my table is every messy, laundry only get folded when they are all mountain high, etc etc etc…

~ can’t go for all the homeschool outings

~ can’t attend 2 church conferences 😦

~ so far I still haven’t had time for a good break > sigh… thanks to all the exams… will do so in school holiday

~ less time to blog and read blogs

ANYWAY… STILL GOING STRONG…

The next target – 1 year at a time 🙂

AND… all glory to God for His wisdom, guidance, strength, etc etc etc… Without HIM, I CANNOT.

Family Meeting

Last week was bad…. Rephrase::: Last week, my patient level was super low 😛

By Friday, E was behaving really badly, and I was also super upset.

Though I was really upset with him, being the adult in the house, I have to take the lead.  Called for a “Family Meeting”!

So, we had E, Z and me sitting on the floor of our living room, and me asking a few questions to EZ, trying to bring everyone to help make the home more at peace.  Really can’t remember what I asked exactly, but I certainly know God was in the midst.

I can only remember the last question when each of us have to listen to the other 2 tell us:

What can you do to make the home more peaceful?

Z told E >>> Gor Gor, you have to be nicer to me.

E told Z >>> Z, you have to listen to me.

E to me >>> Mummy, you have to forgive us and don’t be angry for so long.

😛

I really love this part when we told each other what we really hope from them.  Especially love it that E told me his feeling about me.

The following morning, I found this beside my pillow in an envelop:

Being Maidless – Part 2 >> Less time on net

I have not blogged for so long!!!   And being maidless is not the reason why 😛  but, my attempt to detach myself from the net is the main reason.

One target that I have certainly managed to achieve – ie, less time on social networking website!

As I have shared before, I want to be a Professional SAHM, not a Laze-AHM.  I’m happy that my busy days at home is keeping me on my toes instead of the net.

In the name of keeping in touch

I love my friends, I treasure all the friendships that have been established, BUT, I do find myself spending way too much time on the net in the name of keeping in touch.  Yes, digital era has drawn many ‘closer’, BUT it has also drawn many away from what is more important.

Who is my boss?

Though sometimes I joke that I’m my own boss, or my kiddos are my boss, or my hubby, BUT, the true boss that I have to honor is my Jehovah God.

He has given me the privilege to be a SAHM, I have to use this privilege wisely, else, it can be taken away from me.  So, a very important aspect is, spending my time wisely, enjoying my children as much as I can, and surfing the net during these important time when my children need me is not wise and is not bringing honor to Him.

Be kind to myself

I’m still being kind to myself.  Afterall, I start my day at 5:30am, and only ‘officially’ end at 9:00pm.  That’s more than 15 hours of work!  I need to maintain my sanity.  At times, friends can still see me sneaking in some replies in certain forums or FBs here and there during my so called ‘working hours’, but, I guess many here have noticed that I’m less talkative now :P.

Do only what is important

But by and large, being maidless has certainly helped and reminded me to do only what is important. 🙂

Being maidless…

Being maidless….

helps to train up the children to take care of their home::: besides packing their own toys and books, they wash the dishes, fold the clothes, hang them, change bedsheets, etc.

trains E to be independent with his revision::: he has to study his own 听写 and spelling before I helped him with final round.

helps to train the children to be more independent::: they have to right?!

I’m annoyed less::: things are done MY WAY, so what’s there to be annoyed about right 😉

is physically tiring on me::: my legs are really tired! 😦

time is really precious::: Now spending lesser time on the internet. (YEH!)

home is more messy (but not dirty.  :)::: I can stand mess, not dirt.)

Having said all these, I’m tired, really tired.  There are certainly times when I wish I still have a domestic helper.  I have to constantly remind myself to give myself more time to adjust.  I liken it to exercising when the first 5 to 10 minutes can be hard, but just persist on, exercising will become enjoyable.  So, with perseverance, living without maid can be enjoyable. 🙂 (but tiring :(　)

His Perfect Timing

He brought her into our family at the right time.

He brought her out at the perfect time.

He sent someone to my home at a strange time.

So strange that it solved my problem at the best time.

Kee kee…. what am I talking about?

He brought her into our family at the right time.

“Her” refers to my ex-maid.  Nearly 4 years ago, when I was praying if I should employ a live-in help, God actually prevented me from getting in touch with my agent until the right time when my ex-maid was available.  Which began our journey with her for the next 4 years.

He brought her out at the perfect time.

My sensitive finger, which can make it very difficult for me to do chores, was miraculously healed.  This was one of the thing that I asked God, ie, I can’t live without a live-in help unless my finger is healed.

I believe God also blessed Eve with a perfect new family.

Eve is someone who loves children, and I do think that she works best independently, without the employer around ‘nagging’ her.  True enough, she got such an employer.  With her new employer’s frequent oversea trips, her responsiblity is to take care of their 4 children, while household is done by another maid.

Her departure date was  PERFECT.  She left when E’s Topical Tests were nearly over. 🙂 That certainly helps.

He sent someone to my home at a strange time.

Normally, one of my students come to my home for tuition alone, ie, without her mum.  But on Friday, her mum came, saw the emptied shelves that I was prepared to throw away, and helped me find someone who needed it.

That was really a prayer answered.  Just the night before, I was wondering what to do with those shelves.  They were great condition but without doors.  Disposing them would be such a waste.  Selling them 2nd hand is a hassle.  Well, He knows who need it 🙂

So strange that it solved my problem at the best time.

Those shelves were carried off to their new home in the morning.  My new shelves with door was to arrive in the afternoon. 🙂  How much better can this get!? 😀

Beyond that cute face

She yells and cries when she wants something.

She doesn’t pay attention when you talk to her.

She does things to irritates you.

Yes, it sounds so so so normal for a child to behave this way.

She is completely fine in the morning when I homeschool her and when her bro is in school.  BUT, when bro is back, its like a monster will possess her, and cause her to be a different person.

Yes, I know it has got to do with attention.  BUT, I give her ALL my time in the morning.  When bro is back in the afternnon, its bro’s turn.  I explained that to her.  Why can’t she understand?  I even keep certain part of our homeschool to be done in the afternoon so that she can have something to keep her busy independently when I’m busy with her bro.

I have done what I know how.  BUT, she simply wants ALL of me, from morning till night. How can this be done right?!

This is it… she just has to remember 3 things and memorise them every morning, noon and night:

Listen carefully.

Talk nicely.

Don’t disturb when people is busy.

After the disciplining, was the talk.  Told her that mummy loves her, but is she doesn’t behave, mummy won’t like to spend time with her.  So if she wants mummy to listen to her, talk to her nicely, and play with her, she has to do the 3 things too.

With that, we hugged, kissed, and said our goodnight.

Beyond this cute face, this is the girl, this is the issue I am dealing with now.

30 children under 1 roof

All thanks to the “uninvited guest, instead of having fun at the great outdoor playing soccer and basketball, the VIP and his invited guests – at least 30 children, out of which, at least 20 boys, were forced to squeezed inside his apartment.

Up at his home,  noise level went up several decibel.  No adults wanted to spoil their fun, but we simply allowed the boys to enjoy some fun.  But we adults certainly contributed to the raised noise level.

Since our boys started formal school, this party was the first informal opportunity for us to meet up with each other, so most were delighted to attend.  Somehow somewhere, the parents actually knew each other from somewhere out there, and coincidentally, our boys ended up as classmates.

Though the rain, our uninvited guest, didn’t do us a good favor, but, from E’s mouth, “It was a fun time at A’s house.”

And me?  I was happy too.    With E’s birthday falling around examination period, the party has motivated me to plan party for E this year’s too.  Else, the boys will probably be busy with examinations in the future years.

Cake cutting at the lift lobby

E, his class captain, and another classmate.

(Left my cam at home, so pictures were taken with my mobile.  Spells the poor quality.)

Getting Better

Compared to more than a month ago when E was having a hard time adjusting to school, he is now much more comfortable in school now.

I’m happy and thankful that:::

Ownership of own bags and works

E has really be pleasing.  Right from day 1 till now, he has been packing his own bag, own allowance and automatically get his homework out to do without me saying much.

Few days back, he came back with 2 files and some worksheets.  After lunch, he immediately took out the hole puncher, punched the holes and filed the worksheets accordingly.

I’m happy, very happy, ultra happy 😛

Sorry, just allow me to brag okie 😛  E has got my fair share of complains over at my blog here, so its only right for me to be louder when he does something right. 😀

Nice Chinese Teacher

E likes his Chinese teacher.  Though I have not met her, but she seems to be the type who is very encouraging.  The other day, E was saying that the C teacher played games with them in the class because the pupils have done well, paying attention during the lesson.  Phew… HUGE hurdle crossed

Holistic Education

The school is pretty holistic.  There is a theme that the school will focus on every month. It was ‘Love’ in January, and ‘Team work’ in February.  Can see that E is benefiting from it.  The weekly Wed assembly where someone will be preaching about some values to the pupils also helps.  E been coming home on Wednesday singing to the Praise and Worship songs they sang in school 🙂

Friends

E is making friends.  Initially it was the few names that constantly ‘pops out’ during our conversation.  Today, he told me that he now knows more people in the class.  Happened that the friend that he is closer with is the son of a fellow parent volunteer, which means I actually know his mum. 🙂  Will be attending his birthday party this weekend.

Road ahead…

I know not everything will be smooth throughout this 6 years in formal school.  There will certainly be hurdles for us to cross.  Will take each challenge one step at a time.  For now, I just want to THANK GOD, THANK GOD, THANK GOD.

PS:  And E been humming a song he learnt in school:

“Thank you Lord, I just want to thank you Lord.  Thank you Lord, I just want to thank you Lord, Thank you Lord.” 🙂

One Step Closer

By the end of next week, my household will be embarking on a new journey.  We will attempt taking care of our home with our own hands without any intruder’s help.

How do I feel?

I’m facing it with “fear and trembling”.  I am a little scared.

As it is now, with 3 external tuition students, plus 2 of my own, I’m teaching from Monday to Saturday, both AM and PM on most days.  This alone tires me mentally.  Every morning, by the end of our AM teaching or tuition, I just want to mentally switch off my mind.

Without a domestic helper, I really don’t know how am I going  to survive cause of the cooking and houseworks.  Actually, I will be more ready to live without one when Z starts formal school, which will be 2 years later.

However, having said all these, I’m pretty sure that it is His plan for my helper and our household to part our ways.  He has shown me clear ‘indication’ of His plan for us in this aspect, ie, Eve has to go.

But will He wants us to engage in another one?

I still haven’t seen any clear ‘signs’ yet.  Will just wait and see.