World Book Day, 6 March 2014

Today is World Book Day and Connor's school celebrates it.  Every child was given the option of arriving dressed as their favourite literary character or in any costume they like.  At the end of the day, everyone gets to go home with a book voucher.  Nice.

Connor went as Darth Vader.  Why?

Because:
1.  We have a Darth Vader costume on hand
2.  Mummy didn't have time/energy to make a proper literary character's costume


At 1:45pm, they had a parade of all the Nursery-P3 kids in the playground and parents were invited.  I went and it was quite fun to see all the little ones.  There were a few Fantastic Mr Foxes, one Naughtiest Girl in the School, one splendid Harry Potter and a few Cats in the Hat.  There were loads of pretty princesses, more than a few recycled Halloween costumes and ONE Darth Vader.  Funnily enough, Darth Vader's class had Darth Maul and a stormtrooper as well.... so you can say the P1/2 class had quite a bit of the dark side of the Force.

The best bit was the teachers all dressed up as well.  The Best Teacher's Costume had to go the P1 class teacher who came as The Book Fairy.  That's what it said on the plaque on her front.  She had wings, the cover of a book taped to her wings and pages from a book made pretty pleats on her skirt.  I'm thinking back to my school days and it's really hard imagining... oh... Mrs Gan say.... coming as a Book Fairy.

Well done, everyone!

St Andrew's Day, Nov 30

The Aberdeenshire council is responsible for the running of the schools in our area.  One of the areas they're pretty good at is school lunches.

Connor generally eats the lunch that school provides.  We buy him a book of school dinner tickets and then he exchanges them for a meal at school.  The food's pretty good too.

I have since discovered that the council takes its job very seriously.  It doesn't just provide a hot meal.  They also try to take into account celebrations and change the menu accordingly.  For St Andrew's Day, the school lunch menu was haggis, mince, neeps and tatties.  I took one look and told Connor before we left for school that day that he should opt for sandwiches that day at the school dinner hall.  My son doesn't like beef and potatoes.  And I was pretty sure he would hate the haggis.  Best to eat tuna sandwiches.

Unfortunately, my little boy didn't pay attention to me.  So he lined up for the haggis option.

It was SO predictable what happened next.

My son came home at 3:30pm starving as he'd been completely grossed out by the haggis and had refused to eat anything on his dinner tray.

"What did you have for lunch today, Connor?"
"I had haggis!"
"Did you like it?"
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It smells terrible!"

After I'd stopped laughing my eyes out, I fed my son.

Now if he's naughty, we threaten to feed him haggis.  Hahahahahahaaaaaa......

Connor at school

Everything was going swimmingly at school at first.  Connor was happy to go off every morning to play with other kids and Mummy was relieved to have one less little person at home to mind for a few hours at least.

Then it started.

I was called aside by a teacher who told me that Connor was very disruptive.  He was constantly on the move and would refuse to obey anything she said.  The surprise on my face must have told her his behaviour was out of the ordinary.  Connor is generally a good, calm boy at home.  He has his moments when he has meltdowns and gets hyper-excited but by and large, he's quite easy.

I had a sit-down talk with Connor about it and he seemed fine again at school for a few days.  But then, the bad behaviour started again.  It was also spilling over into his behaviour at home.  I found him increasingly rude and hysterical at home.   It got to a point where I was having chats with his teachers every week about his behaviour.

Finally, I got The Call.  It was from the headmistress herself.  He had been sent to her as he had been Really Naughty that day.  I almost fainted.  In all my years at school, I had never even been sent to detention, let alone been sent to the head. My son, who had been at school for barely two month, had been there, done that.

She told me that he had been very disruptive from Day One but today was his worst.  He had told teacher that he didn't like school and wanted to go home.  When she said he couldn't, he started screaming and hitting other children.  That was when she decided he had to go to the head.  When the head asked him why he was behaving like that, my son explained that he thought if he behaved badly enough, they might let him go home.

I was gobsmacked.  One - that my usually good natured son would behave so.  Two - that he was actually clever enough to hatch up a plot.

Something had to be done.

That night, we let Connor know how terribly disappointed and sad we were with his behaviour.  After many, many questions, it finally came out that Connor thought school was an option and that he could quit it any time he wanted to come home and play with his toys.  I told him firmly that it wasn't and if he'd escaped from school and walked home himself, I would march him back into school.

We also decided to implement the same reward system that school was using.  Connor lost all his iPad and tv privileges immediately.  Good behaviour was rewarded with stamps and he would have to collect 10 stamps to redeem one hour of iPad/tv time.  If he behaved badly, he would be cautioned up to a max of 3 times before being sent to stand in a corner where he had to stay and think about his actions.

When Connor realised that school wasn't an option and that all the adults were on the same side, guess what?  His behaviour improved immediately.  Teacher reported that he stopped throwing tantrums in class.  He started listening more attentively.  Work improved.

And one day, my son came home proudly waving this.

Connor's certificate for good behaviour

We were so proud of him!  I pinned that up in the kitchen and we all celebrated that night. 

I was so relieved.   For a moment, I thought I was raising a juvenile delinquent.  You can't imagine how stressed out I'd been, wondering if this would impact his chances of an Oxbridge education some 10+ years from now.  Sorry... I like planning ahead.  Hee...

There were a few things I noticed about this experience.  One was that he responded when all the adults were consistent in their behaviour and in setting the rules.  Once he knew he couldn't manipulate any adult, he stopped doing so.

Two was I noticed his behaviour improved when I limited his iPad and tv time.  In the summer, he had been allowed the iPad.  He was on his last holidays before proper school, I was stressed out trying with Anders and other family matters and I have to admit I let him play more than he should have.  When he had unlimited iPad access, his behaviour deteriorated.

Thirdly, owing to the peculiarities of the Scottish school system,  Connor entered P1 aged 4.5 years.  Some of his classmates were 6+ years old.  At this age, the gap of almost 2 years is telling.  It shows in the thinking and behaviour of the children.  Although Connor was behaving badly, I felt that his age and relative immaturity had to be taken into account.

He has since settled in well.  I don't get called aside regularly by the teachers anymore.  We still continue with the system of rewards and time-outs at home as it's still working for us.

With time, maybe he'll earn another certificate and we can pin that one up too.

Winter is coming

Morning frost, Nov 2013

It's getting a lot colder now.  We started getting frost about two weeks ago, saw some snow-capped hills too and last week, we even got a little snow on the ground!  It was very little though, not enough to make even a mini-snowman but it's got me all excited waiting for proper snow to come.

I'm looking forward to snow this winter because we can go sledding and snowboarding this winter.  Last winter, I was carrying very precious cargo inside me and so all snowsports were out for me.

We've just had some mild days these week but apparently it's going to get very cold again soon.  I don't understand British newspapers.  The way they go on and on about how bad winter is going to get, you'd think this was the first ever winter in UK.   You get winter here every year, right?  You'd know what to do by now right?

C'mon snow!  We're waiting!

Autumn 2013

Shot on my little phone as we were driving on a country lane.

Oct 2013

This is my first autumn ever.

I was happily telling Connor about how the leaves are green in the summer but then in the autumn, they'll change colour.  "...and first they go yellow, then orange, then finally red!  And then the leaves will all drop off the trees as the trees get ready to sleep in the winter."

My story was interrupted by my husband who pointed out that trees were not traffic lights and there is no such thing as leaves-go-yellow-orange-red change, the way traffic lights change colour. They just change to one colour and stay that way till they drop off the tree.

Oops.

Sorry, Connor.  

Typical Asian tourist holiday shot

Mum and a very reluctant Connor at our local Tesco

Why, why, why.

I dunno.

But my mum and dad loved, loved, loved our local Tesco because it was full of strange and exciting foods they'd never seen before in our little hometown in Malaysia.

Like scotch eggs.

So INSISTED on taking the shot.  

Hmmm....

Someone loves me

Anders with Por-por, July 2013

East vs West: Matters of security

"Your house is not very safe.  Your apartment in KL was much safer."

"Why do you say that, Ma?"

"Aiyaaaa....  KL apartment got security guard, got high walls, got big fence! Just look at your fence!  It's so low even I can hurdle over it!  You should build a higher fence!"

"What for, Ma?"

"So that no robbers can get in!"

"What robbers, Ma?"

It is definitely a Malaysian thing to put iron grilles over your glass windows so that no one can smash their way in, build as high and as sturdy a fence as you can to deter all bad men, install the world's biggest gate and to quadruple lock every single door in your house.

When my parents came to our house, they were astonished to see the fence that surrounded our house was made of (what they thought of as) flimsy wood.  Even worse, Connor was taller than the fence!  None of our windows had any grilles on them either.  To them, we were sitting ducks for anyone who wanted to break in.  How could I be so irresponsible with regards to security when I have their precious grandsons living here?

I explained to them the low crime rate in our tiny village and "...look, every other house here doesn't have grilles and fences either!"  but I don't think I convinced them.  I know how they feel because I felt the very same way when I first came to the UK.

I love seeing our new home through their eyes.  It makes everything new again.

Guess who's here?

It's POR-POR and GONG-GONG!

Yes!  My parents arrived on Monday last week on their first ever trip to the UK.  They flew in on KLM as KLM comes directly into Aberdeen airport which is about half an hour away from us.  I decided against flying them via Heathrow as it's just a circus if you land at the wrong time.

Dear Hubby had driven off to the airport with Connor to pick them up while I waited at home with Anders.  They took so long I thought something must have happened.  And I was right!  Customs had singled them out and made them unpack every single thing.  Mum had packed some bak changs  for me to eat and some bloody Customs officer confiscated them.  ALL eight of them!  I was almost in tears at the thought of my mum's lovely delicious bak changs  in the hands of some gwailo Customs officer who wouldn't appreciate them.  Hmph.  I hope you rot in hell.  Hmph again.

When they finally reached home, Mum was first through the door.  Beaming, she gave me a big hug and then immediately asked to hold Anders.  Dad was next, tired but happy.  Dear Hubby and I smiled at each other watching them coo happily over their newest grandson.

Mum has been a big help ever since they arrived, helping out with the housework and Connor while I focused on Anders for a bit.  She's also been cooking some of my old favourites while she's here and it's great!

Right now, they're away in London for a few days.  My brothers volunteered to pay for a trip to London for our parents as they said it would be such a shame to come here and not go to London.

A few days ago when I was driving Mum around the beautiful Scottish countryside, she said to me that she couldn't believe she was here.  She said, "We never dreamed we would ever come to UK... never even DARED to dream it."

Nice to know that sometimes dreams DO come true.

Anders is one month old

Anders, aged 1 month, July 2013

Well, we've passed the magic one month mark.  We - Dear Hubby, Connor, Anders and Mummy - have survived the first 4 weeks which are usually the most difficult as everyone's adjusting to a new routine.  I quickly learnt that having two children is quite, quite different from having just one.

When we first came home from the hospital, Anders would sleep for 2-3 hours after a feed and I would use that time to get things done.  As he grew bigger, I noticed he stopped doing that.  He cried - LOTS! - and kept wanting to latch on all day long.  I also noticed that my boobies weren't the same as when I was breastfeeding Connor.  Back then, I remembered they would get really full just before a feed.  They didn't this time.  I suspected that I wasn't producing enough milk but decided we would hold out a while before using formula.  I was hoping Anders' demand for milk would soon stimulate enough supply from me.

After two weeks or so of Anders' endless cries, Connor's annoyance that I was never with him anymore, the ever-growing pile of housework as I could not do a thing but cradle Anders all day long and increasing tension felt by both Dear Hubby and I, we caved in.  I went out and got 3 small packs of formula to try and see if they would work.

Did they?

Like magic.

Anders fell asleep right after he (almost) finished a bottle and slept for about 3 hours.  For the first time in weeks, we had some peace and time to get things done.  Our initial decision was to only give him a bottle at the last feed before we went to bed so that I could get some decent sleep.  But it soon became apparent that I was not making enough milk because no matter how long he breastfed, he could not settle.  But a combination of breast milk and bottle saw our son content.  

We could also see him gaining weight.  It seemed like he filled out overnight.  He'd been so skinny earlier and we'd both worried about his weight gain.  I guess we know why now.

So now when he wants a feed, I offer breast milk first.  Then I offer a bottle of formula.  Each and every time, he takes both eagerly and goes to sleep almost right after.   I get to spend some time with Connor, the housework gets done and both Mummy and Daddy are happier.  Anders is much happier too, he cries less and sometimes is happy to just lie there after a feed and look around at the world.

I don't know why I'm not making enough milk.  I'm actually feeling less tired and healthier than I was 4 years ago with Connor so I wasn't expecting this at all.  I discussed the situation with the health visitor and we were both of the opinion that while breastfeeding for as long as possible was the best, sometimes we have to be practical.  

So while I had hoped to breastfeed him exclusively as I had with Connor, it looks like it's just not possible for practical reasons.  Do I feel guilty?  Yes but I know that raising a happy, healthy child is not just about breastfeeding.  Right now, this solution works for our family and we're all the happier for it.

Ready and packed for the hospital!

That's my maternity bag, all packed and ready for the hospital!

I'm smarter this time round.  When I had Connor, I knew I would have a room all to myself and so packed my stuff into my lovely expensive leather bags.  Besides it was Jakarta and we were going to this super-duper posh private hospital so had to erm...  keep up with my fellow Jakartans who always seem to out-posh me, even in a hospital.  Who else on earth packs their stuff into LV bags for labour!  

This time I know I may be in a public ward so I just picked Dear Hubby's golf weekend bag.  This is what I packed:

Large t-shirt

Roomy pants

Even roomier knickers

(All of the above were stolen from Dear Hubby.  The beauty of having a very big-sized husband is that you can always fit into his clothes even at 40 weeks pregnant!)

Flip-flops for the bathroom, I don't like walking on shared bathroom floors... so icky!

Socks to keep my feet warm, I have very cold feet

Light jumper

Roomy dress for coming home in.  I'm still hoping it will be a nice summer's day when we get discharged and bring Number Two home for the first time!

Slip on shoes 

Toiletries for me

I also packed:

Clothes for Number Two

A swaddle blankie

A fleece blankie

Mitts, socks, a cotton hat

Nappies!  Wipes!  LOTS of wipes!

Face cloths and muslins

A Liverpool FC romper suit for coming home, the exact same one Connor wore coming home from the hospital

Last to go in will be some snack bars, a water bottle, my phone charger and iPad. 

Fellow mummies, if I've missed anything out, let me know!

Why the Scots are such hardy people Part II

No match for Scottish winds.

'nuff said.

Why the Scots are such hardy people

Last week was awful weather-wise for us in Scotland.  It's end of May, right?  And this weekend is June, right?  And June = summer, right?  Floaty dresses, sandals, sunblock season right?

W R O N G.

I think it was last Thursday when residents of hilly areas woke up to a snowy blizzard.  I'm not quite so high up so all I got was hail.  It rained/drizzled all day long and the wind that evening was something, going woo-woo-woo and rattling every door and window in our house.  In fact, the wind was so strong that our house acted like a whistle at times.  Quite funny to hear our house sing out in the key of E flat each time a particularly strong wind blew.

Anyway, I found out on Friday from a fellow mum that the previous night's Beaver (pre-Scouts group) meeting had gone on as scheduled.  Out in the woods.  Where the kids (all aged 6yo and below) were looking for nests in the trees.  She knew for sure because it was her night to volunteer and almost all the kids turned up despite the awful weather.

These hardy Scots.

I can well believe it because on Thursday morning, I drove Connor to school.  Hail mah... how to walk, right?  And all around me were kids walking to school as usual, some in just shorts and the school jumper, hands jammed into pockets as they hurried to school.

This amuses me because back home in Malaysia, my brothers and I were all driven to school at the slightest sign of rain.  Schools would be crowded with parents in their cars on rainy days, dropping off their kids as close to the school building as they could so that they wouldn't get wet in the rain.  So I did the same with Connor.  If we were planning to go down to the pool to play, I would cancel everything if just one drop of rain fell from the sky.

And of course now we live in a country where the school policy is to chuck them outside to play in all weather unless it's really very very wet....

Odd neighbours

The road we live on is a cul-de-sac or as Dear Hubby and I call it - a cuddlysac.  We're the end house and to get to our house, we have to drive past two other houses.  So it's houses on one side of the road and green grassy bits on the other side.  I'd always wondered about the grassy bits - if they were communal or if they belonged to each individual house as there seemed to be a stone border in the middle, dividing them into two neat parcels.

I got my answer last week.

Connor was happily going up and down on his scooter the road in front of the two neighbouring houses as I kept an eye on him.  Our house doesn't have a paved driveway for Connor to scoot on, we have a pebbly bit which is really useful as we can always hear who's pulling into our driveway.

One of our neighbours came back just as Connor was coasting merrily along and I immediately called him back.  Connor then quickly got onto the grass to let the neighbour pass and I waved my hand in greeting.  We've been living here since mid Feb and this is the first time I've seen my neighbours.

So if it were me and this is the first time I've seen my new neighbour who looks pretty harmless, very pregnant and is the mum of a young boy, what would I say?  "Hello, so you're my new neighbour!  Nice to meet you at last!"  "Hi, you're the new family, how's it going?"  "Hello, you must be our neighbours, nice to see you!"

Right?  I would have done so.

What I got from my neighbour was "Just to let you know... this road and the gardens?  They're not shared.   They belong to each individual house.  So this patch is ours."

I.e.  GET OFF MY LAND

Fine.   That was the wife.  A few days later, I helped take delivery of some of their parcels as they weren't home.  When the husband turned up to collect them, he was just as brusque even though it was:
1.  the first time we'd met
2.  I had just done him a favour

All he said was "I've got some parcels?  Right, that's them.  Thanks.  Bye." and he took them out of my hands and walked off.

That's the last time I'll be helping you take delivery of your parcels and watching out for you.

That's the first weird family I've met in the village.  Everyone else has been quite friendly.

Doesn't matter where you go in the world, there's always a weird family somewhere.  Lucky for us they just keep to themselves and don't bother us.

Number Two Pregnancy: 35 weeks and almost there

About a month more and we'll have another little man in the house.   I am now 35 weeks pregnant.

I have gained a LOT of weight.  Like 40lbs of it.  Sigh.  I don't walk now.   I waddle.  Just like Donald Duck and geng.  Cukup hilang vogue.  

Number Two is quite feisty compared to his older brother who was more easygoing in utero.  See, Number Two doesn't like ANY sort of pressure on the belly.  If I rest my hand or anything else on the belly, he's very quick to respond with a sharp poke.  "Oi," he's saying.  "Get off."  If I don't move, he'll poke it a few more times.  Like "I'm warning you."   If I still don't move, that's it.  He'll land a series of sharp kicks and/or pokes until the offending object is removed.  It's quite amusing to realise that a sentient, conscious being is actually inside me... it's actually a little person who has already formed some likes and dislikes.  It's not just a blob.

Sometimes when he moves, it feels like a little hand scraping my insides.  Like he's trying to part the curtains and peer out.  It's quite a weird feeling.  Not quite yet, Number Two... a few more weeks to go yet!  Don't you dare come out now!

Connor is having fun playing with my belly.  For some reason, he thinks my belly button is THE conduit to the baby.  So he talks directly into it to the baby and when he wants to tickle the baby, he will blow directly onto it.  The first time he experienced the baby kicking him back was just fantastic.  Connor just lit up. "Mummy, the baby kicked me!" and he laughed so hard at it all.

I'm a little nervous at the thought of having to handle two children.  Yes, I'm more experienced this time and I know what to expect.  But this knowledge is scaring me a little because now I know.  I remember how tired I was in Jakarta with Connor and that was with a maid doing all the housework on my behalf.  God knows how I'm going to cope with the housework AND Connor AND the baby here all on my own.

Oh well.  I guess I'll find out in about a month's time!

Schooling in Scotland: Connor's Technology homework

Connor's Technology pack homework:  (L-R, clockwise) Instruction sheet for model, list of items in the pack, Learning Outcome sheet, book, model kit, parent feedback form

Well, as promised, here's a sample of the homework packs that we receive at school and that Connor can expect to be doing throughout Primary 1. 

This week's pack is titled "Technology" and came with a kit to make a motorbike.  Tell you what, it wasn't easy to make it and I don't see how a 4yo with limited attention span such as my son could be expected to complete it on his own.  If it had been a Duplo set, I think it would have been more appropriate.  This one had screws and washers and god knows what else.  The parent is supposed to guide and offer pointers but let the child do most of it.  Well, I ended up doing most of it myself!   Maybe it'll be better for him in a year's time.

Connor loved the book though.  It's a simple book about how forces help things work.  For example, we push the pedals of a bike to make it move and we pull the oars to row a boat.  He can read simple words so he enjoyed the reading bit. He'd taught himself phonics off some app I downloaded onto the iPad.  When I tried the app, I thought it was the dreariest thing on earth.  But Connor loved it and played with it everyday and the next thing you know, he can sound out words phonetically and read the simple ones.  I was amazed, considering that at this same time last year he had been diagnosed with a speech delay and was undergoing speech therapy.

So there you go, a sample of what we get at school here in Scotland.  

UK Curriculum P1 Mathematics Homework: Our sample

During the P1 Induction Night briefing, we were told that our children would start coming home with homework packs to familiarise themselves with P1 life.

It's ALREADY started.

Connor arrived home last week waving a Mathematics homework pack.   It was a ziploc baggie containing various sheets of paper.  One was the Outcome sheet.  It was for us parents and explained what the homework aimed to achieve.  For Maths, it was to familiarise our children with numbers in their lives, not just as numbers on a page.  The aim was to show them that numbers mean different things in different context.

There was a book to read together on numbers, a number hunt around the village, some song sheets and a feedback sheet for the parent to fill in.

Connor enjoyed the number hunt most of all.  It was a laminated sheet of various signs around the village - the speed limit sign, the bus stop sign, the hotel sign, the road signs.  We went hunting for them one morning and he really enjoyed it.  Coincidentally, he's very much into signs now and he's always asking, "What does this sign mean, Mummy?"  So it was very easy to explain to him that the "30" on the speed limit sign denotes how fast Mummy can drive while the 6am - 9pm sign on the village mini market means that's the hours that the shop's open.  Different numbers, different meanings. See?

Pretty good activities and once you're done, you pop everything back into the ziploc baggie, fill up the feedback form and pass everything back to the Nursery teacher.  The way the activities are structured means Mummy and/or Daddy has to get involved too.  This means if your child has any difficulty with the activities, YOU the parent know it and you can get involved early.  Not happy blur-blur and wait till the teacher calls you for a private chat.  By then, your child may have started disliking school simply because he can't understand what's going on.

I forgot to take pictures this time but I'll remember when we get our next homework pack.  I saw a parent come in with the Science pack today and golly, it looked complicated... had rocks and leaves and flowers and stuff.

Can't wait!

Primary 1 induction night

Last night was the Primary 1 induction night for all the parents of children who will be starting P1 after the summer holidays.  That includes yours truly.

As the head teacher wryly acknowledged last night, the transition from Nursery to P1 can be exciting and a little scary for our children but by and large, they are fine because they are used to the school setting and teachers.  It's really us PARENTS who have the heebie-jeebies.

And she's right.  Connor can't wait to go to "big boy school".  He has no qualms about it.   I, on the other hand, am fretting about his readiness.  Can he hold a pencil correctly?  Will he be able to understand what's going on in school?  How will he fare vs his older peers as he will be almost a year younger than some of his classmates?  I am so glad we got his speech therapy sorted out while we were in KL because his Nursery teacher says he's talking and communicating fine and she doesn't see any problems with that.   Will he sit down and eat his lunch?  SO many questions!

So schools in UK have Induction Nights where anxious parents of soon-to-be P1 kids are taken through what awaits their precious ones in school.  Teachers and staff are on hand to answer any questions we may have.

In Connor's school, the Nursery kids will be given taster sessions of P1.   They will join P1 classes over this term so that they can get a feel of it.   Activity packs and homework will be given.  Samples of the packs were available for us to inspect and I had a look at some for writing.  One pack had a piece of paper with several chunky crayons in it and the child was asked to write the letter M in various sizes and colours.  After that, the child had to evaluate which M they liked the most.  Also included in the evaluation sheet was a section for the parent to comment on the activity.  Looks like Mummy's getting homework too.

We then took a look at the term activity for the P1 class we were sitting in.  This term, they were organising a circus and there was a circus tent in one corner, a ticket booth in another.  Actually they were learning words, numbers, colours, shapes etc... and the circus bit was just a ploy.  But at the end of the year, they get to have a Circus Day and all the parents come in and charged an entrance fee to watch.  Cool or what.  I didn't have that in Darjah Satu when I was in primary school!

After looking at the activities children are supposed to do in P1, I'm a bit more relaxed.  For example, Connor has taught himself quite a bit of phonics off this app I downloaded on the iPad and that's similar to what they're teaching in P1.  It's quite amusing to be woken up by a 4yo in the morning and to be told, "Mummy, I want a kiss.  K is for kiss. K-k-k-k-kiss!"

He already knows his numbers and is doing some writing, all stuff they will be doing in P1.  Connor's biggest problem is his lack of discipline in class.  Unfortunately, he's inherited some of my less desirable personality traits.  One of them is the tendency to try and get away with it.  Some children just don't have that trait, they're just naturally obedient and good.  I wasn't.  And he isn't.

We parents all went home with an info pack to read.  I really appreciate that they did this as it's really made me feel more at ease about P1.  I don't know if the international/private schools in Malaysia do this as well.

I've been told by more experienced parents that the school also organises a School Lunch night where parents are invited to come in and try the school meals that our kids will be eating should they choose to buy school meals.  I tell you what - I've been to the school when they're preparing the meals and it usually smells really good so I can't wait!

I believe the curriculum used by the British-based international and private schools in Malaysia are similar so if any of you are wondering what a P1 child is supposed to do, this might give you an idea.

Number Two's gender

For those of you who are still trying to figure out the scans I posted... the colour of this snowsuit I bought should give you the answer.

And Baby Number Two is.....

.....a boy?

Or a girl?

Can you tell from this scan?  Teehee.