anZel/Arden

Archive for the ‘Arden’ Category

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I came home a little late tonight because of work. Both kids were happy to see me. Arden actually screamed. Later, Arden told me “Mumi, I am so happy to see you.”

anZel actually started telling us story tonight. He was able to retell several pages of Curious George goes to a custome party. It took a bit of an effort to encourage him. Once he got a hang of it, he really liked and wouldn’t stop. Some day, perhaps he can retell the story in his own words. At the moment, he is memorizing the story word by word.

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Arden and I were reading “Goodnight Moon” last night. Upon seeing the three little bears sitting on chairs..

Arden said “Me, big brother and little bro.”
Mum: Where is your little brother?
Arden pointing at the three little bears…”Me, big brother and little bro.”

p.s. NO expansion in the family…

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Grandpa Sam: If you don’t finish your breakfast, I won’t take you to the park.
Arden: No. Grandma Helen will take me to the park!

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anZel came to our bed in the crack of dawn and said to me “Mummy, I was lonely last night. And I thought of you.”

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Arden firmly told me that she was heart-broken the other day because I didn’t let her get her way.

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Arden was coughing badly in the evening and eventually went to sleep. When I went into the bedroom to check both children, anZel said “Arden was coughing. Could you check to see if she threw up?”

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On our way to school, anZel saw someone riding his bike with training wheels on the road and quickly pointed it out to me.
anZel: MUM! Look at that guy. He has no training wheels on.
mum: That’s right. When you grow up, you won’t need them either. When I was little, I had to use them as well. Then I learned how to ride without them.
anZel (getting very animated): When I grow up and I can ride without training wheels on, I will take Arden to school. Then I will ride to school.

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Arden had an accident on Sunday in her newly in-love tights. When I told her that it was wet and should be worn…
mum: Arden, your tights are wet. You can’t wear them.
Arden (crying her eyes out): I want
mum: But it’s soaking wet…
Arden: I want to wear it.
mum: It’s not going to be comfortable and you might catch a cold.
Arden: I want
mum: Do you want to try to put on the wet tights? (feeling absolutely sure that she would say no…)
Arden: Yes…(nodding with tears bursting out of her eyes)
mum: Are you sure?
Arden: Yes
Putting on the wet tights…she wore it for a good 5 minutes and I had to take it off. Then She threw herself on the floor like a wet noodle.

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Arden’s latest favorite book is “Pat the bunny” (thank you Grandma Ruth).

The bunny in the book appears to have only one hand.
Arden: Where is the bunny’s hand? Maybe it’s hiding it.

Stumped

anZel: Why isn’t there seat belt for motorcycle?

Today:
anZel: Why isn’t there oxygen in outer space?

Arden: Why is brother sleeping?

Ummm…

Diaper delivery boy

博然大合唱 - anZel/Arden Duet

anZel and Arden videos

Arden blowing bubbles

anZel singing Un Elephante

joy of motherhood >>y3, 2ndQ

bAlAnce…the fact that it is lacking at the moment or the past three years. I can’t believe I have been a mother for the last three years. After one of the worst meltdown I have had to deal with in the past three years, I reflected on motherhood during my quiet drive home. These time of reflection comes far and few in between. Most of the time, I find myself incapacitated due to lack of energy or brainpower. It feels as if I am doing some sort of rocket science when I try to outwit a 3 years old and a 17.5 months old. It explains why sometimes I feel like I would collapse from exhaustion at 9:30 AM (NOT PM) on the weekend. And sometimes motherhood is this incredible rollercoaster riding of extreme highs and lows.

A perfect example came yesterday. anZel woke up asking for dAd after his afternoon nap. Big tears were coming out of his eyes when I told him that dAd had gone to work. He knew there wouldn’t be videos to watch without dAd because mum had never “seemed” to be able to get the computer to work. I had to keep Mr. Grumpy contained in his room because Arden was asleep. It would be the end of with one child throwing a tantrum and another one without her afternoon nap. There were a lot of pushing and kicking and telling me that he no longer wanted mum. After much holding and telling him, we were finally able to settle on a couple of books. We were even able to practice throwing a bag of diapers in getting our frustration out I was happy that we were able to “redirect” him in channeling his frustration. Once Arden woke up, the three of us were able to play together for a short while.

Since both of them have a variety of allergies, I tend to avoid process food. The children rarely eat candies. For some reason, a couple of leftover lollipops caught anZel’s eyes on the kitchen counter. He asked if he could hold them. He knew better than to eat them. So I gladly offered them for him to hold one on each hand. Then he had asked for another one. I asked if he had three hands. He said “I could put one under my armpit.” And he asked if he could eat one. I said no. He started getting frustrated and used the lollipops to hit me. The rule at home is that if one doesn’t know how to use something (given a couple of warnings), the tool/object would be removed from the holder. So I removed the lollipops and told him that he could have them back in 5 minutes. This just sent him over the edge with lots of hitting, stomping his feet and crying hysterically. I gave more warnings and told him that if he didn’t stop, I would have to put the lollipops in the trash. At the end, the lollipops went into the trashcan in the kitchen. He went digging for them while murmuring “are they in here?”. So they had to go to the big trashcan in the garage. He was so upset that he threw up over himself and me. My white shirt was covered with sour yogurt and cantaloupe. Eventually, we made peace and I told him that I would buy some “home” (allergy-free) lollipops. After we changed into clean clothes, I decided that he could use another hug and some more reassuring words. As I reached down to pick him up, he jumped up with all his might. With his little coconut aimed directly at my jaw, my brain hit the roof of my skull, my mouth closed and my teeth sank into my tongue. I tried all my strength to keep my cool. I found the doorframe and slowly guided myself on the floor. While I didn’t want to scare him, I couldn’t keep the tears coming out of my eyes. I felt blood in my mouth. anZel was in shock as well. I told him that I knew he didn’t mean to hurt me but I needed a moment because it really hurt me. Eventually, I got myself together and walked downstairs with him.

With blood still in my mouth, all three of us went outside for a walk. anZel insisted on riding his scooter and Arden wanted to be on the tricycle. Then Arden wanted to be on the scooter. A few feet down the road, she decided she wanted to go by herself and pushed my hands away. Somehow it didn’t surprise me that she fell and hit her head on the pavement. In order to hurry home, I asked anZel to ride the tricycle home and hold the scooter with one hand and Arden the other. But anZel insisted on hold his sister and ride at the same time. When it proved to be futile, he told me that I must be hold his sister’s hand. He said, “I am on the bike, the cars won’t hit me. Hold sister’s hands (worry about her getting hit).”

As I strained to retell my weekend to my colleagues with my still swollen tongue, there was smile on my face.