I had a parents-teacher interview at kindie last Thursday.  It was intended to discuss with parents the development so far of the kids since they started attending preschool.  It was a one-on-one discussion and interview between the teacher and parents.

I was more than satisfied and happy with the way Alvin is developing in terms of intelligence:  numeracy and letter recognition, shapes, colors; motor skills; social skills, etc.  As compared to the time Alvin started kindie last January, he is now able to express himself much clearer in terms of words.  He is now very interested in singing and dancing.  He is brilliant when it comes to spelling.  This also includes word recognition which makes him remember that a certain word reads as such.  His memory is amazing for a two year old.  Please read related story that will give you hints on how to help your kids improve in spelling, word recognition, and help them get more interested in learning while having fun!

The teacher told me “We are trying to come up with new activities for Alvin so that he won’t get bored.  Maybe something that will challenge him more mentally.”  Although I don’t see Alvin getting bored with what he does everyday, I always wonder if he really will ever get bored of all this learning activities.  The thing is, it seems like for Alvin learning is a play and he is really having fun with it, which is really good.  Some parents might worry though if their kids are enjoying to learn and study and missing play to the point that they are missing a huge percentage of how their childhood should be.

Alvin fixing the bed and side table early in the morning. Isn't he so sweet?

The best thing for parents to remember is that we should come up with all sorts of activities for our kids.   There must always be an activity where they can express their talents and playful selves.  It should not always be serious like doing homeworks all the time or reading books and studying.  For Alvin and Ivana, they have their weekly swimming lessons.  Ivana is also asking me to enrol her in dance classes which I definitely will.

Raising my kids is becoming more and more challenging to me each day as a parent.  There is something to look forward to everyday.  It is also an exciting experience when we discover something new with our kids’ abilities or skills.  Just have a look at my Alvin who surprised me with how good (not perfect though) he can fix mama and papa’s bed!

How challenging is raising kids for you?  Share your experiences and joy in parenting and raising your beautiful angels.  See you around lovely moms!

Healthy moms create healthy families.  It is surprising that most of my friends who are also moms are starting to be health conscious.  Reading health books and magazines as well as gym sessions seem to become a fad.  It is also impressive to know that some moms are getting very conscious about nutrition labels on various products they purchase in the supermarket.

I thought to myself, isn’t that hard and time consuming reading all those labels before I put the item in my shopping bag?  Well, I am learning.  And I should say that it is very important to read labels of products we buy and be very choosy on what we buy for and feed our families.

I have been a SAHM for four years now.  I should say that  being a SAHM kept me into thinking that motherhood is a fulltime job…although sometimes I think it is even more than that.

Twenty four hours in a day is not enough to accomplish everything that’s needed to be done at home, aside from the errands I need to run and do every single day.

If a fulltime job for others is an 8am to 5pm job, being a SAHM is 24 hours every single day. No day off.  No overtime pay.  No promotion. No resignation… How about that?

The only consolation we get as SAHM is to see our kids and husband happy and content healthy, and well taken care of.  It is very important though that SAHMs realize that it is impossible to create a family that is healthy, happy and content if the mother, which is the queen of the nest, is unhappy and unhealthy.  Taking good care of ourselves and taking time for ourselves alone is essential in creating a vibrant energy within us that will keep us going everyday in fulfilling our role as a SAHM.

Coming up:  For SAHMs: How To Pamper & Love Yourself

It took centuries before the society finally accepted the fact that women have a wide range of roles that cannot be performed satisfactorily by men.  Women have very important roles in moulding a society by looking after innocent souls for years and raise as useful and good individuals.

But raising innocent souls is not that easy as it sounds. They say that babies don’t come with a manual.  I absolutely agree. No matter how much parenting books you have got in your collection you cannot succeed as a parent if you don’t know how to adjust yourself in every situation you are in as a parent and mother. 

Being a mom to my kids made me realize that kids are different from each other.  We rear them in accordance with their different personalities.  There is no fixed formula.  There are different considerations for each child. This is one among the tons of lessons I have learned from my mom.   She used to tell me and my siblings that raising kids is the same as dancing to music.  Music has its different tunes, different dance steps, different beat…  Raising kids is like dancing to different kinds of music…