Wasps @ Home

We just found out that some paper wasps had set up a hive at the side of our house. It's only a small hive but I'm loathe to get rid of it. It's not that I have a fear of creepy crawly insects it's just that I have a fear of being stung!

Anyway, we bought some household grade insecticide that supposed to get rid of them. Reading the packaging, it all seems easy to use: just spray onto the hive until all the adult wasps are dead and get rid of the hive. Sounds simple, right? It doesn't mention that there might be angry wasps trying their best to sting you! So, I'll take precautions and go out with a full raincoat, face mask and goggles!

I'm off to do battle with the enemy, wish me luck... :)

Another Proud Moment

Today, Bianca's teacher told me that they had just tested her reading skills. And they were very impressed. The exact words she used were "she blew me away!". I was told that other students have not quite reached this level. So next week she will be given additional readers to work on at home.

I know, I've said it before but ... I am so so proud of my daughter! I wish we knew what was the secret to her success. Honestly, I still don't know what we did to get such results. Yes, we have exposed them to books from an early age but really no more than bedtime stories. And its not like we monitor the time they read, play, spend on TV and computer games. We don't really have a strict routine at home. Whatever it is, I'm just glad its working for Bianca, and our little boy as well.

Could it also be that my time off work since she was born really made a difference? And just sitting down with her to read a book or two a day really helps? I hope so. Now that she's in school and Nico has been learning to be more independent, I've been wondering about going back to part-time work before the end of the year. But given these results, maybe I should consider waiting another year or so when Nico goes of to school just so that her little brother has the same headstart. Hmmm ... ?

Waiting For The Bus

Waiting For The Bus
Originally uploaded by chazzvid.

I bring the girl to school every day now. We wait for the bus to take a short ride to the school which is only a few minutes away. A few bus stops later, we get off the bus, enter the school and I bring her to her classroom. I see her settle in and I go back to the bus stop and I wait for the next bus to take me to the city.

I enjoy doing this as it gives me some alone time with her and we get to talk about anything under the sun. We have quite a few conversations about flowers, lakes, shadows, dogs etc.

Pretty soon it could be about boys and I'm not looking forward to that!

Ice Skating

Not really but the Winter Olympics are on and coverage on TV today showed a bit of ice skating. The kids were enthralled with the moves of the skaters and watched as they did all those tricky manoeuvres on the ice. After the show, they went ahead and set up a mini ice skating rink in the living room. They had us play classical music as they spun around and around on the living room floor. The girl even went as far as making score cards for her toys to hold up at the end of each performance.

The wife and I had lots of fun watching them spin themselves silly! Ah, cheap thrills...

First School Award

As her parents, we've always known that she's always been the artistic, imaginative and creative type. At home she collects all things around the house that could become usesul for her craft work, this included things like cardboard boxes, pieces of colored paper, straws, strings, sticky tape, colored pens, bottle caps, cotton, etc. All this she would put into her 'useful box' and each day she would make something special out of these materials. You can also imagine the mess she leaves behind, hehehe.

At the school's show-and-tell, they are asked to present a different topic each week. In the first week, the topic was 'My Family'. We suggested that she show a family photo, but she insisted on making a drawing of the family photo ... what a brilliant idea. The next week, the topic was about something they were good at. And this time, she chose a few from among the best of her drawings that I collected over the years. She even made a very quick drawing of the "Bannanas in Pyjamas" with striking resemblance, that was my favourite.

And today, I got a nice surprise when I picked her up at school. I found out that she got an award in front of the school assembly! It was for "doing beautiful work", and she got a nice yellow certificate and a tube of sparkly glue. She's only been in school for 3 weeks now and already teachers have noticed her talent, and I was so proud of her. Too bad we did not get to see it ourselves, as we were not aware of this assembly in the first place. Oh well, I guess this means I will try to go to more of these school functions if only to spend a little more time with my girl. After all, I must admit that lately I miss having her around the house.

Somewhat a Valentine's Date

The wife and I have long given up on spending actual time alone on Valentine's day. Being parents of two busy kids is indeed a full time job, one which does not afford time off. But sometimes we do get to spend time together once in a while and now that the girl is in full time school and the boy still in once a week day care, we can get that opportunity.

I took a day off today and spent some time with the wife just watching a movie and going around the mall. Nothing special or romantic about it but it's alone time we can spend together without having to worry too much about looking after the kids. It's alone time to spend as grown ups.

It's interesting the stuff you take for granted while malling. Without the kids, we can actually take our time browsing stuff in shops without having to be in a hurry because of nappy changes or hungry kids. Or not having to bother with steering prams around crowds or assuaging tantrums or playing referee.

Of course, the down side of this is once you spend more time in shops the more likely it is you actually get to buy something so I ended up with quite a few things I didn't think I'd buy today. :D

(Mattress) Separation Anxiety

We ordered new bed mattresses for the kids that arrived today. They've been using old mattresses for a while now and it was about time that we got them new ones. We just bought them mattresses this time as we were waiting for the IKEA to open in Adelaide before we got the bed frames.

Although the mattresses are now in their room, we're having a few issues convincing our daughter to let go of her old mattress. She's been upset ever since we told her that we were replacing her old bed. She insists on keeping the old bed, saying that she "Loves it" and that she'll "Miss it".

Anyway, we sat her down and explained to her about how we needed the space and how sometimes old things needs to be thrown out or given away. Of course, we had to go through a few tissues because she was in the middle of a full blown tantrum by then. We finally got her to calm down and have her give the new mattress a chance. We think we got her to understand about letting go of some old things. Although I had to tell her that some old things, like her old teddy bear, won't go anywhere any time soon.

At any rate, she's asleep and quiet now in her new bed. It's amazing how she can be so emotional and attached to inanimate objects. I know it won't be the last time we'd have to soothe her tears and deal with her tantrums but that's what parents are for, aint it?

Health Kick

Sounds like my dear sister is on a diet. This reminds me that my wife and I have also decided to live a little bit healthier this year after we saw the results of my yearly blood test. As expected, cholesterol is high ( more bad cholesterol than good ) and we've resolved to do better with our own health this year. We're doing walks around the neighbourhood parks, eating healthier and less dining out at the fast food joints.

I don't want to part with my money to go to the gym yet so we're looking for ways to incorporate a healthier lifestyle into our routine. I hope we can keep it up.

Early Valentine's Gift

As the month of love is upon us now, we might see all a number of things around us to remind you of that special someone. I got a special reminder yesterday from no other than my little valentine ... NICO! Lately, he's been singing and dancing this song from the Hi-5 video that goes " .. L-O-V-E spells love.." over and over during the day. When we were out in the backyard yesterday, he got a piece of chalk and scribbled something on the pavement as he was signing this song.

And there it was, the word "LOVE" hand-written by Nico ... his first written word before 3 years old. Now that made my heart go pitter-patter.

Kid Funnies Part 8

The boy has this adorable little habit. When we ask him to look for something, he would cup his hands over his eyes and use them like pretend binoculars!

Survived!

So we survived the first week of school relatively unscathed. Our daughter seems to have adjusted well. As for her parents, we've only started sifting through all the forms and stuff that she brings home from school. It's amazing how much paperwork and forms and newsletters and reminders that our daughter brings home everyday. To think there's not even homework yet.

We're starting to help her out with school work like preparing for her "show and tell" time every week. On top of all that, we still have to plan ahead and prepare her lunch ready every day.

We've also found that school tires her out. This is really the first time she's out of the house for most of the day ( kindy was only a couple of hours ) and she comes home from school a bit knackered. Since Tuesday, we've had to wake her up in the morning to get ready for school! It's a good thing today was a free day for her so she stayed home all day. You'd think she'd sleep in today but oh no, today, she woke up early...