Proud Milestones

Yesterday was certainly a day to be remembered. Truthfully, it was not one that I looked forward to. I dreaded it long before it arrived, yet I knew I just had to embrace and accept it. Yes, yes... It was Ian's first day at kindergarten.

Ian is certainly the baby of the family. He gets away with practically anything! He loves hugs and snuggles, giving and receiving kisses, long cuddles, and speaks with the cutest pelat. I definitely wasn't ready to let go of my little baby. I wanted to keep him home all the time! (Also, since Aiden goes to afternoon school, it didn't seem right to send his baby brother to school in the morning and separate them into two different schedules.)

Unfortunately, my maid is going home for Eid holidays. Remember my whole saga of being a maid-less mum? Well hello, round two! The thing about having good help is to also remember to appreciate them. And my way of appreciating her is to allow her to balik kampung. It would be good for her to spend time with her family during Eid. But the consequence of her absence.... *sigh* Seriously, I cannot bear the thought of leaving Ian crying at day care again. Hence the early introduction to the kindergarten, so he can hopefully get familiarized with the teachers.

First official photo with his kindergarten uniform.

Aiden was super excited about his baby brother going to kindergarten. He wanted to walk Ian to school! I guess it must have been a huge thing for Aiden, walking Ian to his old school, cos as soon as he woke up, the first thing he asked was whether we had sent Ian to school.

Ian was somewhat excited too. He kept pointing to his kindergarten uniform and his socks, and even agreed to pose for pictures. The uniform was a bit too big for him, but he still looked super cute wearing it. Oh, it felt just like yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. And fast forward to today, he's already starting on a new phase in his life. I am sooooo proud of Ian for making it to this gigantic milestone.

Ian, is that a peace sign, or a loser sign? *giggles*

Waving goodbye excitedly.

Making himself comfortable in class. He wanted to draw like everyone else, so he kept saying "Draw!"

Barely two hours later, my maternal instinct decided that it was time to check up on him. Based on my previous experience, he's usually not too comfortable with strangers. As expected, I found him in a pool of tears. The teachers reported that he cried for me. *sigh* It's okay Ian... baby steps yea?

Tears running down his cheek.

On the other hand, Aiden scored his own milestone too yesterday. He has successfully fasted full day since the start of Ramadhan, hence yesterday was his tenth consecutive puasa and tarawih! Hubby and I are both extremely proud of his achievement and his persistence. So proud, that we decided to reward him with an early duit raya.  (Aiden actually has a different end game in mind; he wants us to download Minecraft on the iPad if he fasts the full 30 days.)

However, getting him to day 10 had its own ups and downs. Coaxing him to eat during sahur was an agonizing affair; my maid had to resort to suap him just to get him to eat. He would get so cranky after school, he would whine "Mummy... I want to eat", again and again and again. Sometimes my patience would run thin, that I would tell him to just break his fast. But never once did he take me up on the offer. And for that, Hubby and I both mutually agreed that if he gets to day 30, he truly deserves the coveted Minecraft.

The two boys in matching jubah.

Getting ready for tarawih.

Lizzieasamummy Hits One Million!

My oh my!

I've been so busy at work that I missed recording this long anticipated mark of one million... By the time I realized that I had achieved this coveted milestone, I was already 213 views late!

Here's the snapshot taken on 2nd June 2016, 213 views too late. *giggles*

For me, this is an amazing achievement to be celebrated. It took me nearly six years to receive five hundred thousand views (my fault, I took various long break in between!), but only a year and three months to score the same number of views later.

Of course, this wouldn't be possible without you and you and you, for reading my scribbles and thoughts in this humble blog of mine. So here's a big hug from me to you! *hugs*

7 Things I’ve Discovered From 7 Years of Raising Boys

During my younger years, boys have always been a foreign species to me. Being an only child raised by a single mum who enrolled me in an all-girls school until I turned 18, my exposure to the XY gene pool has been somewhat limited. In my teens, I struggled to make friends with the opposite sex. Men always seemed complicated and unpredictable so I stayed away, until I found love in the eyes of my husband.

Pregnant with my first child, I imagined parenthood to be similar to my experience growing up. A nursery filled with stuffed teddy bears, decorated in the loveliest hues of pink. Tea parties, cupcakes and tutus. Ballet classes and Girl Scout jamborees. Shopping dates and bonding over facials and manicures. I was so confident that I wouldn’t be carrying a boy. Surely God wouldn’t do that to him since I am no expert in handling one.

A trip to the gynecologist changed that opinion overnight. Aiden decided to show his manhood on the ultrasound screen and my dreams of delicate pink skirts and adorned headbands slowly shifted to preppy jeans and overalls in the shades of bright blue and red. Four years later, Ian dashed those hopes once again. Shamelessly, I cried for the mother-daughter relationship I knew I would never have. In my conversations with God, I questioned why he decided to challenge me so. But in the end, I made peace. And just as when I first cradled Aiden in my arms, I welcomed Ian with the same intense and fierce love that only a mother can muster after going through 5 hours of labour.

Raising boys can be a bit rough and tumble, and sometimes I wonder what to do with these rowdy, smelly, mischievous little scamps. But underneath the loud and cheeky demeanor, they are sweet loving boys who love me completely, unconditionally and unabashedly. (Daddy’s monster, Mummy’s boy!)

My first born just turned 7 last month. So brush aside those toys and pull up a chair, as I share with you the 7 things that I’ve discovered from my 7 years of raising boys.

1. Boys don’t stop moving. It’s insane how much stores of energy they have, and how they are absolutely intent on using every ounce of it. From the moment they jump into your bed at 6 in the morning until they flop and doze off at bedtime, they just don’t stop. Something as innocent as a cuddle between two brothers, may turn into a full on wrestling match in mere seconds. Get used to becoming the referee. And when you’re not looking, they will whack and thump each other for no apparent reason. Keeping them busy is probably your best bet at keeping your sanity. Expect a trip to the Emergency Room at least once in their lifetime.

2. Boys are loud. Why, even their bodily functions are loud! Rowdy and rambunctious, boys speak with a high decibel even when you’re just two feet away. You will strain your vocal chords more often than not just to be heard. In all irony, they are incredibly loud but in turn they don’t listen. You will have to repeat yourself at least three times to get his attention. Most days, you will feel like a broken record.

3. Meet the toy line up. There will be planes, trains, automobiles and more. Their boyish obsession will change in a specific order according to their development age; a ball, vehicle with wheels, Legos and puzzles, dragons and dinosaurs, action heroes and Nerf guns. Those gender neutral toys you bought won’t even stand a chance. Boys are just hardwired that way.

4. Boys destroy. One of the most common misconceptions people have about boys is that they destroy everything in their sight for fun. Heck, they would even build a pillow fort just for the satisfaction of destroying it afterwards. This destructive trait is actually due to their physical curiosity. When exploring something new, their natural incline is to smack it, toss it, pinch it, hurl it, and if all fails - eat it. Compliance and quiet observations just won’t cut it. Once, in the spirit of biology experimentation, I found my boys cracking a tray of eggs on the kitchen floor. They claimed that they wanted to pat the ‘baby chicken’. Pray tell, how can you punish such inquisitive children?

5. Shopping will be a breeze. They don’t care about what they wear, so dressing them up will be super easy. Choose between a shirt and a tee. Then match with jeans or shorts. Rather than going green in envy at the adorable dresses, shoes and accessories in the girls department, I make my shopping trips more interesting by buying matching clothes for my two boys. Oh, and the money I would have spent from the temptation of buying a sizable wardrobe for a daughter? Those ‘savings’ now supplement my shopping trips for my own clothes!

6. Boys do cry. Whoever said that boys don’t cry probably had daughters. Boys will cry when they are upset, and it is perfectly acceptable to validate the expression. Despite what society projects upon the male species, boys have the same sensitivity and empathy as their sisters. A hug, cuddle or snuggle is always the best cure-it-all for those meltdown moments.

7. Boys love their mummies. I’ve said this already but I’ll say it again. Sure, they’ll hunt for Daddy when it is play time. But mummies get the upper hand when it comes down to the mother-son bond. Their love for mummy is sincere, strong and consistent. I still remember that one time when Aiden came home with a ‘flower’ he plucked on his way home from school. (It was a piece of weed.) He thrust it into the palm of my hand, draped his tiny arms around me for a huge hug, and said “Mummy, you’re beautiful”. My heart melted. (And Daddy can only dream of receiving the same treatment!)

As I muddle through this journey with my husband and my two boys, I often wonder whether I’ve done my best for them. At times it feels as if I’m just making it up as I go. At the end of the day, motherhood is both a learning experience and a surviving experience for everyone. And I would never trade those noisy, hilarious and heartwarming memories with anything in the world.

Sometimes I reminisce about how I was petrified of the prospect of raising boys. Only to then want them and love them with all my heart and soul. How I managed a complete 360 degree emotional flip is still a mystery to me. But God doesn’t always give us what we want. He knows what’s best for us far better than we do, so in turn he gives us what we need.

And this “best” for me, was my boys.

Pepperoni Pizza

*I wrote this post last week but forgot to click on publish. So apologies for the yummy pizza photos! 

Poor Aiden. He was sick on medical leave throughout the last week before school holidays, hence technically he's been cooped up at home with an extra week of 'holiday' compared to his fellow classmates. No wonder this week he's been bouncing off the walls - too much bottled up energy but too little outdoor activities. Unfortunately, work has been really piling up at the office so both Hubby and I haven't been able to take any time off.

In an attempt to quash that guilt feeling deep in me, I left the office slightly early and made a pit stop at Jaya Grocer for some pepperoni. Our first school holiday activity - making homemade pepperoni pizza!

The ingredients for pepperoni pizza are quite basic, really. All you need is a ready made dough for the base, some kind of sauce, cheese and of course pepperoni (duh)! I added some chopped onions just to give it a slight flavor.

Here are the ingredients. Love the ready made dough. Bought this from a neighbour and using the dough I was able to make not just pizza, but bread too!

Although I prepared the ingredients, Aiden (and Ian!) made the whole thing without any assistance. Using his clean hands, he kneaded the dough and rolled it out into a circular shape. Using the back of a spoon, he spread a generous amount of Prego sauce, topped it with some onions and lots of cheese, and finally arranged the pepperoni on top. I specifically told him to overlay the pepperoni on top of each other as it will shrink when it is in the oven.

The tray was floured way too generously. But the kids really had fun using their hands to make the circular pizza base.

Spread Prego traditional sauce on top of the base.

Lots of cheese! 

Make sure you overlap the pepperoni. As per picture above, we merely placed the pepperoni close to each other. Not good enough, as it shrunk significantly. 

Next, put it in the oven for about 15mins (or until the base is well cooked). Serve while still warm. And don't regret the calories. *giggles*

See how the pepperoni shrunk in the oven?

Officiating my new KitchenAid pizza cutter.

The kiddos were super excited over their creation.

Aiden proclaimed that it was "the best pizza I've ever had". Ian? I was just happy that he agreed to give it a try.

One day of school holidays down. Several more to go. Any other simple school holiday activities that can be done at home? Trying hard to steer them both away from the iPad and tablet.... which is easier said than done, really.