My exploration in life… (diary for baby!)

YEN went for a scan yesterday after her fourth month into her pregnancy - and the doctor found no indication that the baby’s male.  YEN asked me earlier if I had a preference to the gender of our third child - I told her ‘long as the baby’s born healthy, I have no preferences’.  I mean, the child is a gift, long as health is given to the baby, what more can we ask for??

We can start name-hunting for her now.  Noting that RACHEL and FELIX both have the letters ‘E’ and ‘L’ in their names, YEN suggested ‘ELIZABETH’ or along that line…  Well, it definately was not on purpose that it turned out their names bore those two letters, so I told her that it was fine even if the name bore no resemblance to anyone’s in our family.  I mean - RACHEL and FELIX was not meant for anything else other than their meanings too…

RACHEL developed a bad cough today.  She had been coughing every other minute.  =(  Not sure how to stop it.  Sigh…

RACHEL has learnt how to address YEN.  Instead of ‘Mummy’ which we had been trying to get her to say, she is addressing YEN as ‘Ma1 ma’.  She does so forcefully sometimes, and is extremely adorable when she does that.  Her understandable vocabulary has grown substantially since she started play-school.  We are thinking of sending FELIX via the same route RACHEL took.

Our concern is that at thirteen months, FELIX is yet to be able to stand for a prolonged period on his own and is not able to really chew and swallow solid food to well.  Hopefully, he will do all that and walk / run in the coming few months.  In February, YEN’s expected to deliver our third child then and we look at sending FELIX to play school about then.

I really must take my hat off to YEN.  Not only is she juggling work and other areas, but she is almost always there for our children.  This is especially evident every night as our two precious ones have to be cuddled to sleep and they do not want me to do that - they’ll only cry harder if I tried to.  I count my blessings that I have known and married this extremely capable lady who is very forgiving and loving too, among her other good characteristics.  I am glad she chose me.  =)

Work is piling, as usual.  I am currently trying to take a few students from my class to give them a crash course on the basics of the English language.  They are willing to learn, but just not motivated enough to do so on their own, I guess.  I’m trying to see if it will bring any change in their results later.  While teaching them the basics, I have been able to pick up some useful things which I have forgotten too.  So it is good that I’m spending these times with them.

Our new nickname for RACHEL is ‘Tantrum girl’.  She throws tantrums very frequently nowadays, whenever she doesn’t get what she wants.  She goes to the extent of doing so in public places, lying on the floor in foodcourts and kicking her legs, all these while wailing at the top of her lungs.

Sigh.  We’ve witnessed many a fights between our two children too.  FELIX would move towards whatever new that makes sounds and catches his attention, mostly when his sister is playing with the toy.  When this happens, our princess would start crying even before FELIX touches her or her toy.  Sometimes, FELIX gets near enough and is too fast for her, and she would scream while pushing him away.  Looking after them and separating them when they play is sure tiring.

On their own, they are adorable angels.  I have spent time alone with either child and have fell in love with them further.  But when they are together, it’s a different story…  gosh.  I can hear RACHEL’s piercing screams now.  My mum brought the two children downstairs to the playground and from home at the fourteenth floor, the screams are sure audible…

I brought my class on a social studies field trip today to Kampong Glam in the Beach Road / Arab Street area.  It was a trip with few incidents, quite enjoyable and I really learnt quite a little too, due to the knowledgeable tour guide we had to our group.  The biggest incident must be this boy from my class not getting to the washroom in time and ’s**ting’ in his pants.  Being his form teacher, I had to help him wash them off his shorts.

I was glad the empathy shown by the class that after I told them in their small groups of the situatuon faced by their unfortunate classmate, they listened and did not laugh at him, nor did they mention that he was ’smelly’.  I’m really heartened by this.  =)  Looks like the children can be taught if they want to learn.

This week is supposed to be the school holidays.  Many would think that teachers and children alike are taking a week’s rest.  Nope, not our school.  Other than Monday, which was Teachers’ Day anyway, teachers had to go back for the rest of the weekdays.  Staff meeting was on Tuesday, and we had to conduct extra remediation classes for the next three days to weak students.

Not that I think it is not required, but how much can we do in the three days, I wonder?  Also, it is just for three hours a day, with a twenty-minute recess embedded into the timetable each day.  Students who come without the correct attitude will learn nothing at all, I feel.

And that’s not all.  The management feels that results for the past five years have dipped yearly.  They want all teachers to help make a difference, whether we are teaching primary six classes or not.  So we were made to commit for the next month until their PSLE examinations, our time, be it weekday nights or weekends.  We will be rostered to teach weaker students.

Not that I am complaining.  But again, I say, they will waste our time if their attitude is wrong in the first place!  I hope very much that results will take a turn, for everyone’s sake.

At home, RACHEL is showing more of what she had learnt in play-school.  She was ‘caught’ singing rhymes quite a few times, but stopped short when she discovered that we knew sometimes.  She is able to recognise more letters and numbers, and can tell us the ’R', ‘A’ and ‘C’ of her name when we write them to her.  She recognises ‘apple’ when she sees it on the telly.

FELIX is learning how to walk.  He is still not as strong in the legs and needs to hold onto things or people.  Somehow, he sometimes ‘irks’ RACHEL and ’scares’ her with his screams at her.  And poor RACHEL cries when she is being screamed at!  =(