(2008/02) Feb 2008 MTBs

Homeschooling:
my fren is super mum.

She has no maid, no mil or mum helping out. 3 daughters, all homeschooled and 1 just Went primary 1. She just gave birth to no 4.

I dunno how she does it.
 


Xy, yup must ask aunty Lezhuang to cook that for u. She makes very nice orange 'gu lu yuk' too. Make more tea eggs okie then I go over on sunday n eat. Hahaha. Buay paiseh. ;)
 
Congrats Apple!

Tubao...congrats too! I have 2 boys..wonder how it wil be like to have gals. These 2 boys driving me crazy now.

Bx, I am also looking for maid. But most of the time she will be at my MIL's place to help with the housework and food, and we decided she will stay there as well. (Also good coz am now prepared to give up a room for her, and neither do I want her to sleep with no. 1)

Should I be the employer or my MIL?
 
Sweetpea,
In my opinion, since u r the one employing, u should b the employer. But must remind the maid to take instructions from ur mil.

Re: maid
How shdl the maid address my pil? Ma'am and sir? Or nai nai and ye ye like how the grandchildren will call?
 
Anyone knows where to buy pyjamas for 2-4 yrs old other than gap/ON in the bps? i am looking for long sleeve and long pants.. my ger has outgrown them.. preferably not too ex, cheaper than BPs. dun need brand.
 
Bx, my maid calls Ye Ye and Nai Nai. Only me and my hubby are Mam and Sir.

Sweetpea, if you are the one paying for the maid. Put under your name then the maid's employement pass will reflect your name. My maid in the beginning love to tell 'sob stories' and 'wayang' in front of my ILs. My ILs serve her coffee or Coca cola (they don't even do that for me hor), keep asking her to sit down or rest, doesn't let her do any housechores when she is there on Sundays, and even ask me why I never let her have afternoon naps (Raelynn not even born yet then).

I got so fed up that I told my maid not to act 'kelian' to Ye Ye, Nai Nai. Ask her to check her work permit card, at the end of the day, I am her employer. If I am not happy about her performance, I will be the one to transfer her or send her back. Ye Ye and Nai Nai also can't help her. She wised up and stop 'complaining' after that. :p
 
Pauline,
Wah u so fierce ah? I scared I am the soft kind. Dun dare to scold maid.

So far no luck wif my maid hunting. Either too old, fat, pimples, bu shun yan. Better ones all taken. Din know getting a maid is so common. Went katong shopping centre. So many ppl also looking for maid.
 
lezy,

Your friend is super! I think the only way that I can manage 3kids comfortably is to let them watch TV.

Sweetpea,

Now I have fat hope that 2 young girls are pretty, like 大S and 小S; or like coco lee 3 sisters. Haha…….fat dream.

My E sometimes drive me crazy also. She is never afraid to fight with much older boys at playground. *Headache*…...
 
Bx, I believe in Xian Xiao ren, hou jun zi when it comes to maids. I told my maid that I will never abuse her, starve her and we will always pay her salary on time (given her a few advances so far). All I ask in return is that she never steal, lie n do her work properly.
 
pauline,

ya lor. my CL reali "bad" but boh bian. i "tan fang bian" jz ask my gf. she engaged her, say not bad. but then, my hb and dad say she no gd. So i tink it reali depends on individual. becos i got maid, my CL expects my maid 2 do most of things like washing, mopping, etc. meaning listen 2 her instructions.

re : maids

pauline, i totally agree wif u on "xian xiao ren, hou jun zi". i aso tell my maid tat. but then apparently i still "too good" 2 my current one tat she "climbs over my head".

guess wat. yesterday was celebrating my son's bd in a function room. most guests left except my best fren. she told me hw come ur maid jz sit down there. dont even help 2 clear up the mess as we were abt 2 leave the place. i told my gf, she is like tat, i dun ask her 2 do, she wont.

even my hb's fren see liao aso ask my hb "ur maid oni take care of ur son ah?" my son was napping in the pram. my maid wont auto clear stuff, do tings. oni when i tell her. my gf say if tat's the case, y engage her. still got 2 tell her, might as well i do myself. haha...
 
bx,

u cant be too softhearted wif maids. they r smart. i dun mean must every time fierce or stern. but at least let them knw u mean business. if not, like me lor. climb over my head. and still wan 2 lie in front of me when i alredi expose her.

pauline,

i agree wif the inlaws part treating the maid gd. my dad & auntie aso treat the maid quite gd. like urs lor, serve her dessert, keep asking her 2 rest and eat.. they tink i "ill treat" her meh. i told them, i'm the one facing her and observing her do work. i knw hw the maid behaves and her attitudes. usually oni those who spent most time wif the maid will knw hw gd/bad the maid is.

if we treat our maids abit fierce, outsiders will tink it is OUR fault. reali sianz...
 
Esty, ya lor ya lor, if I tell the maid off at ils house. My fil will always claim that he is the one who tell the maid to do this way or it is his fault cos he did not understand her instructions. Faint!
 
Lezy
your friend is fantastic. gosh. hat off! I can't even do simple flash cards, wat more to homeschool! haha

Sweetpea
imho, yr mil should be the employer as maid will stay at the place of work and do all the chores there. maid will listen to your mil and not give trouble if she knows she is the employer. it's different if maid is staying with you and going over to mil house in the day. if u get a maid who is smart(er), she will ask questions.

BX
my first maid called my parents and PIL by "Mam <name>" or "Sir <name>". But when K started talking, she began to imitate the maid by calling her grandparents' names! she will pick up her toy phone, put on her ear and say "Mam <name>, Sir <name> on the phone Mam!" At first, it sounded cute and funny but after a while, MIL thot it can be quite rude. So when the new maid came, she insisted the maid call her nai nai and ye ye. And my mom is Grandma and my dad is Grandpa. Only me and hb is Mam and Sir.

Pauline
Agree with you! better to start being strict first and nice later.
 
Sweetpea,
Sorry meant to add that your MIL must be prepared to be the disciplinarian otherwise, better that you be the employer. If maid doesn't behave, is she going to be the one to scold and take her in? If MIL expects you to deal with the maid, then better you be the official employer.

In my case, MIL is the one who is facing the maid more than 8 hrs a day while I am at work so I asked MIL to choose and give her full authority. I told the maid very clearly that 1) MIL is her employer (altho on the workpermit, I am the employer) and 2) if I hear any complaints from MIL, she is in trouble. End of the day, MIL will complain to me and hb and expect us to guan3 jiao4.
 
Bkkgal, esty, yes I feel that it is important to set the ground rules so that they know what is expected of them. If we r slack in the beginning then try to take away privileges after they go overboard, then they will be resentful.

Bx, it is difficult to choose a perfect maid. I chose my current maid based on looks but end up she is very hiao cos she is from iloi iloi. Always dress up until nice nice to go out with us. She cannot live without her rexona deodorant, tweezers, comb, hair scrunchies n clips one lor. But I am ok as long as she work properly. But if she is so engrossed in making herself beautiful n forget to bring the children's things then I will tell her off lor.
 
pauline,
heh.. i am not a fan of 'gu lu yuk' le. no prob on the tea eggs.. come when you free.
happy.gif

btw, does she go marketing? was thinking about the arrangement of going pasar. i've got rather small fridge.

genice,
i think the stalls at market also sells pyjamas. should be quite cheap. can check it out.
 
Congratulation, Apple. CNY good that is the chance to slim down fast and easy.

Tubao,
Congratulation for twins. Take your time to adjust. you won't regret. Next time, ”三个女人一个巴刹,三个女孩一个游乐场“

Tongtong,
Any reason behind stopping at 1?

I'm interested in the mygym trial. So near my place? Pauline wanna join? We can go together?
 
blueginger, yeah, pm me your name and contact, they will contact u. join me and shaun for his last class next sunday if you can.

pauline, i think i submit your name liao, did they call u?
 
Tongtong, thanks, they called me n I went down on sat, 1115am. Raeanne enjoyed herself but I find the fees a bit steep, $425 for 10 lessons ie 1 hr $42.50 leh. I want to start raeanne on music appreciation so can choose only one cos limited budget for sahm. :p

Xy, thanks wor. Lezhuang aunty taught me how to cook the tea eggs but I lazy n busy lor. :p
 
Blueginger,

Thanks.
Hehe..... just wish 3 girls are very close to each other. Let them accept me as a less perfect mummy.

You're working now?

Tongtong,

In China every one just has one Child. I don't know what kinda of stare I will get next time I bring kids back home. ^_^
 
Hi gals, damn busy at work after returning from ML. Hardly any time to post can only be silent reader.

Apple, re prenatal massage - RN will only do from 20weeks onwards. They will ask you to sign up for 10 sessions which I find difficult to finish, but can be used postnatal as well. If you want, can take over some of my sessions cos I managed to get a pretty good rate =)

Pauline,
Which music appreciation class are you going for?

Bx,
Re dietician - haven't brought A yet cos grandpa disagreed la....so in the end, we try harder to feed her at home lor, and also started to give scott's emulsion. apparently many pple i've spoken to swear by it and claim after taking for one month or more kids fall sick less often
 
Gar, RaeAnne attended trial at both Seimpi music and Juzmusic at Parkway. But we prefer Juzmusic cos the timing is 1030am on Sat so after eating lunch, come back just nice for her nap time. RaeAnne cannot listen to instructions/beat etc so cannot follow the teacher. I think she is lacking in concentration/listening skills so she will probably benefit from such lessons more :p
 
Forgot to say, Juzmusic have no make up classes unless produce MC. So, we are not signing up yet cos we are going to Genting on 6 Aug weekend and hubby has school events on both 26 July and 14 Aug. :p
 
pauline, yea it's not cheap, but luckily still got free play every week , so at least not so ex liao. anyway i'm not continuing shaun's class too because same reason as u - sahm hehe. i think shaun will be sad because he enjoys the class very much and follows the istruction very well and has his favourite teacher too. anyway i'm sure i will provide him more fun than going to the class hehe.

tubao, if one wants to have more children in china, just need to pay fine issit?
 
Tongtong, problem is we can't bring raeanne for freeplay unless weekend n they have classes lined up before n after her 11.15am class so also cannot. :p
 
Thanks for all the well wishes.

Garfield: Thanks! Actually I don't think I have time to go for regular massage although I do feel my aching back and shoulder need a good massage. If I ever decide to sign up for any package, I will look for you.

Tubao: I come from a family of 3 girls. We really have good bonding.
 
XY,

R u the one who talked abt rolled oats ages ago?

Are they better than those normal oats? Can i give rolled oats to Cayden now? He just turned 1yo.

Thanks.
 
XY,

R u the one who talked abt rolled oats ages ago?

Are they better than those normal oats? Can i give rolled oats to Cayden now? He just turned 1yo.

Thanks.
 
Hi ladies,
It's been a long long time since I last checked in this thread (due to work and crazy hours)... my boy was born 22 Feb
happy.gif

Juz wondering if you gals put your tods in childcare? Any recommendations for Pasir Ris/Tampines area?
happy.gif
 
esther
check out tongtong's blog

tongtong
btw i find the waldorf thing v interesting! was reading a bit last night, quite inspirational and a good reminder, because these days i v short tempered and always scolding E. feel so bad. urgh.
 
Esther, oh you interested? that's good. Home schooling is very good for the kids. You are your child's first teacher, isnt that very true? This is actually a title of a book, hehe. going to loan from library. BTW, i'm waldorf inspired so all my homeschooling effort is based on waldorf education. In fact, waldorf if "unschooling" instead of "schooling", in fact very holistic.

You can based your homeschooling curriculum on any others like montessori or etc. you choose which one you like ok!

Iso, yeah, I was deeply inspired by rudolf steiner 's thinking and i think he is really a great man. This leads me to quit my job ( part of the reason la) and be sahm. And i even started doing gardening and farming with my boy ( which I never do for my 30+ years of life , oops) Dont feel bad about scolding ok. well, hope you are enlightened by reading them and trust me, if you previously scolded E 5 times a week, now slowly you will only scold him once a week.. or even once a month , or never already!
 
esther,
i did asking for information about rolled oats and steel cut oats previously. was looking around steel cut oats that time as it suppose to have higher nutritional value.

what's the normal oats that you are referring to? instant oats?
you can find the info from here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolled_oats

since cayden is already 1 year old, i don't think there's any problem to feed him rolled oats. i added it in C's porridge too - too bad now she's out of the stage of porridge. her weekend meals are always - mian mian mian... pasta pasta pasta... :p
 
tong,

read ur blog, very informative.
happy.gif


XY,

thanks for d info. having pro feeding cayden porridge. cant finish even 1/2 bowl. probably 1/4! wan 2 let him try oats and c hw.

ur C dun like porridge now ah. mine opposite! Cayenne hates porridge when she turned 1yo. Been on rice/soups/pasta/junk food (oops). but guess wat. since cayden starts 2 take porridge, she always want! so now i always cook xtra porridge 4 her. and if cayden dun wan porridge, i feed cayenne! Hee...
 
ha. finish 50% of the passdown liao.
:D

very tired. woke up at 2+ due to heartburn and not able to get back to sleep.
now very sleepy. as long as don't take medicine, i will get heartburn. hai...
 
hi mummis, i'm from the apr 08 thread. i'm currently looking for a maid and saw your discussion on maids and maid agency.

any good and honest maid agency to recommend me? pls PM me your contacts
happy.gif
a million thanks! so stressful looking for a good maid to take care of my newborn..
 
morning ladies!
so quiet ytd.

xy,
i din experience hearburn the 2 times. wonder what the feeling is like. mayb i have but i din noe. anyway, ren awhile more and bb is out.

lynn,
i seriously thought homekeeper (beauty world) is quite good but i din get from them coz no suitable maid available.
 
clover, i used to use glass jar too but cant find a lot of thicker one. last time i used glass jar from the hospital to store. recycled too many times, till it cracked in the freezer. i din store much just let it to expand. think the quality of the glass is not there.
 
Tubao,
My girls enjoy seeing each other. Now the elder will help look after her younger sister. I'm pleased to see the sight. Errrr... I'm also not a gd mother. =P

Not working. Staying at home is busier than working. 24/7

tongtong,
Very interesting. wat do you teach at home? It is better to teach on your own.
this sunday I'm not free, will go next week. my Taiwan relatives will be here.

pinkie,
I put Channet in cc at Tampines Junction, near Century square. The school is the Little skool House. As far it is the best I came across in terms of meals, environment, educations. Channet learns a lot in school.
 


re: heartburn
tong,
got other remedy than medicine meh?
like what bx say, i will either ren for 1 more week or take medicine liao.
at least i can sleep better with medicine.


re: glass container
clover,
the pasta sauce container will have smell even after wash.

tong,
lock n lock has glass air tight containers too:
http://www.locknlock.com.au/products_c.php?cate1=4

i think i saw it at NTUC.
 

Back
Top