Back to School

The long summer holiday is finally over today.

Ryan is finally going back to school and he is more than glad because he just cannot wait to get back to see his favourite teacher, Jeff and his pretty assistants, Mari and Grace and to play with his classmates. The two long months of summer holiday have been challenging especially with Chenya at home as well, because Chenya tends to fight with her brother quite a fair bit. Most of the time, it was Chenya who bullied Ryan rather than the other way round. She bullied her brother so much so that Ryan spend most of his time in the master bedroom, watching TV and playing with his toys while Chenya stayed in the living room with her toys.

The moment they are together, Chenya would already have either scratched or beat her brother, or comes crying that her brother had beaten her, although most of the time, it is the other way around, all within 10 minutes.

This morning while Ryan was getting ready for school, Chenya was getting ready too. She said that she wanted to go school too, complete with her school bag and waiting. I just hope that she is as eager to go to school when she actually has to go and not have to be drag up the school van every morning, kicking up a fuss, screaming and crying.

We have already registered Chenya into the same school and although the term actually starts today, we have asked to delay Chenya starting date till November. That is because the first week of October is going to be China National Holiday and after that we would be going to Juizhaigou for a holiday. Hence, we thought it is best to start her in November so that we don’t have to waste paying for her school fees in October when she is going to be away from school so much.  We also did not want to start her off in September and then having to re-orientate her all over again in November after our holidays. That will save us quite a fair sum of money.

For now, daily routine is back to norm and slightly better, now that we have already engaged a full time Chinese helper (Ahyi) for 8 hours everyday to do the cleaning and cooking.

Just looking forward for Chenya to start school too.

Obsessed with Dandelion

There is no flower that attracts both Chenya and Ryan like the common Dandelion. After the harsh winter this year which ended sometime in February and when spring kicked in, there were so many little white tiny fluffy star burst like flower popping up everywhere – the dandelion.

Both Chenya and Ryan were having a blast, picking them up and blowing them into the wind. 

 

I enjoyed watching them having simple fun like this and being back to the nature, running wild in the park (although it would have been much better if they were in a real natural park somewhere with clear blue skies with little air pollution, unlike the severe ones that we get in Beijing).

 

The laughter, the squeals (especially from Chenya) and the screams from Ryan as the light tiny white dandelion seeds float in the air, being carried by the wind, landing we know not where, but with a possibility of a new beginning and starting the next life cycle was something precious and memorable to me.

I can’t really recall whether I had such fun when I was younger but from the look of both my children, I can sense the true, deep and uninhibited joy of simply blowing the dandelion flowers and chasing after the seed all over the place.

 

We just went through some hot and humid summer here in Beijing, reportedly one of the hottest that most Beijingers would attest to. Autumn has arrived and the weather is slowly cooling down a little and we can see more clear blue skies in the recent weeks as compared to the hot polluted summer days.

Days are shorter now as compared to summer and soon the sun would set by 4:30 in the evening, as winter arrives. Honestly speaking, I am looking forward to the winter although it can be very cold and harsh at times, but I am looking forward to snowfall and another round of snowball fights with my son and this year, I am sure Chenya would be able to join in as well.

 

For now, with this post, I just hope and wish (if I could) remind my children when they do grow up, that the best fun and laughter and true joy sometimes comes from the simplest of things in life, such as a tiny white dandelion.

So, if you are ever depressed and frustrated anytime in the future, try picking up a dandelion and blow it into the wind, sit back and watch them float without care nor worries, wherever the wind takes them, knowing that a new beginning for them has just started.

New CEO at Home

My other half have been working from home whenever possible. With today's technology, office can literally be anywhere as long as you have a good or reasonably good internet connection. Well, this technology is a double edged sword. While on one hand, one can be almost be kept updated with the rhythm and pulse of the business, on the down side is that, it is extremely difficult to segregate or differentiate home life and work life. One can actually be working almost round the clock if you are working and reporting to different bosses globally with different time zones or bosses who do not seemed to bloody understand that it is actually midnight half way around the world from where they are.

The challenge for me of course is how to keep two hyper active `monsters' who are now constantly bickering and fighting and yelling over who get which toy, as quiet as I positively can, while my `CEO' at home is having her conference call with her colleagues. Or, how to you prevent especially Chenya from climbing all over her mommy while she is half way, presenting a proposal to her bosses. Wifi at home in the rooms are far from fair and hence, getting her to work in the rooms is still `work in progress' until I find a solution to boost up the signals. Meanwhile, everytime, she has conference call at home, me, the `personal assistant' get stressed to the max, trying to ensure that both the little ones are kept in check.

Today, I have an extra CEO `working' from home. Chenya has started imitating her mommy to set up her work desk at the dining table to `work', complete with her bag, laptop, handphone, notepad and pen, pretending to be making calls and replying emails.

Now, I have two CEOs at home working and I must said that I have my work cut out for me as their `personal assistant'. Now I have two bosses at home and both equally demanding, fiery and a perfectionist in every sense of the word.

I seriously need to hire a assistant to this assistant!

Chenya is Now Two

Time flies and almost at the blinking of an eye, Chenya has just celebrated her second birthday. We have seen much changes in our lives in the last one year. For one, the entire family has been relocated to Beijing in November 2012 to start a new life in a new environment and new adventures.

From the moment she arrived, I knew that she is going to be a handful and a fierce one too and that is exactly how she has turned to be.She is as active as her brother Ryan, attempting every single move that her brother is doing. Her favorite toys so far are guns and cars (Pengsan!)

She is not afraid of anyone at home right now and had almost everybody twirling round her fingers. I am trying very hard to be the one to discipline her and instill some fear and respect in her at this age, else she would be absolutely uncontrollable.

She is demanding and when she wants something, she want it instantly and can be rather persistent in her demands. She is almost everything that Ryan is not. She can cry for long period of time with real tears when she does not get what she wants and smile just as fast, the moment she gets it. She is possessive and would rather put her stuff aside, even though she does not play with them instead of sharing them with another, including his brother.

She can also be rather manipulative to get grab attention. There were instances when she would just walked past her brother who was sitting innocently on the sofa watching TV, purposely let her hand  touched his legs and the before you knew it, she would be crying and running towards us, crying ...."Kor Kor knock knock Chenya!"

Her brother would look baffled, confused and would vehemently denied having anything to do with it. "No! No! I didn't touch her! She came and use her hand to touch my leg ... like this ..like this..." he would defend himself.

I must said poor Ryan received several rounds of warnings from us before we wised up to this manipulative girl's tactics.

She loves singing and grandma has taught her Theresa Teng's songs that she would sing whenever she feels like it. She will automatically moves and shakes her bump whenever she sees dances on TV.

She loves clothes and would choose her own clothes even at this age and she loves shoes and constantly changes and alternates between the several pairs she has adopted from Ryan.

At the age of 2, she is a fast learner. We are constantly amazed with the new words that she picks up either from us, her brother or TV. She is able to form sentences and recently even knows how to talk back to us! (Really Pengsan!) With us being in Beijing right now, she is getting on very well with at least three languages, namely English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

All in all, to sum it up, Chenya is after all, a GIRL in every sense of the word.

Chenya with her picture taken with mommy, brother Ryan and her grandmother with her tiny Angry Bird cake when mommy came back from her business trip in Atlanta to have another round of celebration with her.

A break after this break

I was looking forward to come back to Malaysia this round for a short break because I needed one. I last came back in March 2013 to sort out the rental of our house and the sale of our cars. Well, you could say that I have only been away for a short 4 months. It is true but  4 months in a foreign land with no true friends to `lepak', 'minum' and chit chat can be rather lonely and stressful. I honestly desperately needed a break from my Beijing daily routine and monotony and I needed to be away, hopefully with a couple of days away from the kids (not that I don't love them any less) but to have some space to breathe, so to speak.

 

I thought I had that when Chenya, as arranged earlier will be with my in-laws for a week, while Ryan would be away for several days with them as well. At last, I thought I could go out to my usual hangouts back home in Malaysia for my coffee and hangout with some of my buddies of a couple of beers before heading back to Beijing for another couple of months.

 

 

However, I seriously do not think that that is going to happen this round.

 

 

Chenya has developed mild fever for a couple of days now and was told yesterday by my in-laws that she was having some dry cough. Ryan apparently missed me so much that he wants to come home.

 

 

So, I had both of them coming back to me last night and to make my task taking care of them harder, Ryan woke up this morning and told me that his cheek behind the ear is painful. I took one look and saw that it was swollen. My fear was that he has contacted mumps.

 

 

 

I took both of them to see my good old friend, Dr Liew and his diagnosis was Ryan has contacted mumps which will probably take a week to run it's course while Chenya has acute bronchitis and several medication to take. I need to bring her back to the clinic on Friday for a follow up.

 

 

So, there you have it. My next couple of days would be to take care of them, both down with something and Chenya, not feeling well, is becoming very clingy and `sticky'. This is definitely NOT the break that I was looking for.

 

Right now, my only thoughts and wish is that both would get well as soon as possible and that Chenya would not come down with mumps in the next couple of weeks.

 

 

I really need a BREAK after this BREAK!

Blood is Thicker Than Water

If you currently have more than one child, do you still remember the one major reason why you went ahead to conceive another, or do you still remember that one major reason your spouse used to convince you to go ahead with another?

If you currently have ONLY ONE child, can you recall one reason why so many, especially your parents or in-laws are trying to tell you why you should go ahead to have another. And if you have been trying to have another, what is the reason that you have braved your fear for conception, pregnancy and pain?

If I remembered correctly, that one reason was "so that Ryan being the only child then would have a little brother or sister to play and grow up with and would not be lonely." Well, at least that was the reason that so many people were telling us, the same reason my wife was using to convince me to concede defeat and the main reason why I went ahead to work on Chenya, so to speak.

Well, one thing is for sure. Ryan is definitely not lonely right now because he is kept so busy fighting with his little sister, Chenya. However, there are also so many sweet and tender moments that they shared together which reaffirms our belief that they are there for each other, or at least that is what we hope for.

Unfortunately, I have come across too many families where sibling rivalry, not when they were young but after they have grown up, has torn an entire family apart. Sisters not on speaking terms with sisters, brothers cursing brothers or sisters suing brothers. My mother's own family comes to mind where siblings can go on not talking or seeing each other for decades. I just cannot imagine the pain the parents must be going through, seeing their own children hating, fighting and hurting each other.

If that is to happen to Ryan and Chenya eventually, then I would rather have Ryan being lonely as a child, then having to endure the pain of seeing them going at each other's throats.

So, my dear son and daughter. If and when you are old enough to read and understand this, do know that our intention of having both of you together is FOR EACH OTHER, to love, to care and to be there for each other when we are no longer around. Nothing will please us more than seeing the love and bond that we see in you now, as you play together, mature and strengthen as how we have wish and pray for.

Blood is always thicker than water.

Blow Job

Yes Yes Yes. Of late, my daughter has developed this rather kinky liking and No No No, I am not talking about the type of blow job that most of us (adults) are familiar with.

Since last month, if I remembered correctly, before she would sleep or takes her nap, Chenya would lift up her shift and "Itchy (in Cantonese), scratch and blow."  By scratching and gently  blowing, we could easily sent her off the her la-la land in a matter of minutes.

This is still fine for now, since she is going to only turn 2 this coming 20th July. However, I dread to think how becoming it would be, when she grows older and still lift up her shirt every night and demanded to be scratched and blow before she would fall asleep.

Praying that this is just a passing phase in her own adventure of growing up .... and it better be ....HAHAHAHA.