Updates

What has been happenning? Plenty. Cant believe the year has gone by. Let's see what we have done or been up to......

A-Tishoo - brought the girls to see the show at Actors Studio 2 weekends ago. Was really debating if I should bring Rowena as well but I ended up bringing her. Well, she had to live up to her reputation of being Dennis the Menace. We were there early to get the tickets, so just before the show started (about 5 minutes), we went to the toilet and Rowena followed me inside the cubicle while Harvyna entered another one on her own. As usual, Rowena started fiddle with everything and she turned on the tap at the side. The water splashed at her and she was wet from head to toe. I was really speechless as the expression on her face was just just priceless. It was a cross between 'Oh, what just happenned?' and 'Oh Oh, mummy is going to kill me!!' So although I was really annoyed with her, it was quite funny. Luckily I brought some extra clothes. She was still in a state of shock througout the show that she remained quiet and sat on my lap the whole time.

What did I think of the show? - It was ok. No props and dialogue or music, a lot of imagination. I think Aesops Fables would be better.

Harvynna's Parent Teacher meet - Met with her teachers and everyone mentioned that she is a very fast learner and picks up things very fast. She reads well and grasps the BM 'sukukata' very well. She can count 1-100 and does addition and subtraction up to number 20. She is good at Mandarin as well. She prefers to do her work on her own and is quite independant. The teacher has t0 give her additional work to do as she finishes her work very fast. I feel this could also be because, the school encourages learning through play, so most of the activities are quite easy for her. Academically, she is very good but needs improvement in her behaviour!! She does not share with her friends.

Looking at the girls, I think that HArvynna will be the book smart, straight A student while Rowena will be the streetsmart, not interested in studies type of child. Her attention span is really short. She focuses on trying to do the naughtiest things or finding what she can break!!

We still have not confirmed her school as yet due to transportation issues. I better call the school now!

Shopping Woes

Everytime I take the girls to the mall myself, I end up kicking myself and wonder why I put myself through this kind of torture. Harvynna is quite easy to handle as she loves the mall. The only thing is she MUST have a drink in some café with cake. It cant be the mamak opposite as it has no air conditioning – it has to be a café. Even if she has a hearty meal before that, she will always say, ‘I did not eat much, I am still hungry’ or she will ask me’ Mummy, you haven’t eaten right? Better eat something’

Rowena on the other hand drives me up the wall everything we go out. She refuses to walk properly or hold our hand. She will hop everywhere or just run out of sight, touch and pull everything. Then she gets tired and insists on being carried. If she does not get what she wants, she will sit on the floor and scream ‘Mummy, come here now and carry me!’ I am already fuming mad and dead tired.

Yesterday, we had to go to the Megamall as Harvynna’s school needed a white t-shirt for t-shirt painting. Its really difficult to get a plain white t-shirt nowadays. Even all the cheap ones have cartoons on them. We went to Carrefour, but could not find one, then we went to Kamdar and they only had a long sleeved one. Rowena ran really fast out of my sight and I ran after her and dragged her by her hands, while she yelled and cried and everyone was staring at us. I don’t care what people think but I was so irritated. Harvynna kept saying ‘Rowena is really irritating. Next time don’t bring her’.

Then we went to MNG. She sat on the table where they displayed some blouses. She lifted each one, shouted ‘Stupid, ugly shirt’, threw it aside, picked up another and another and did the same thing. Then we went to the changing room – she opens the curtains of another cubicle.

After that, we went to Seed Café for my dinner while the girls had ice-cream. Rowena did not like the waiter and started fighting with him. ‘I don’t like you. I pinch you and push you’ ‘ I push you in the freezer’ (the cake display). Then she talks at the top of her voice. Luckily, the waiter did not mind so much. Not sure about the other customers though.

As we were walking out, there were some perfume promoters promoting their packages. There was one errr he / she approaching us. Immediately, Rowena said loudly ‘ Mummy, is that a man?’ I said yes. ‘Why he looks like that? Why so ugly? I quickly grabbed her and Harvynna and walked really fast out of that direction. I think she is going to get me beaten up some day!

Vicious Rowena

I blogged earlier about Rowena a.k.a Dennis the Menace. She really has so much pent up energy that she releases it in weird ways. Now she whines non-stop for something she wants, and just yesterday, she was sitting on the sofa asking for cake or something, and when I refused to give it to her, she started pulling her hair out - literally.

And she bites and pinches and scratches and leaves nasty marks. Harvynna now has a nasty scratch on her face - courtesy of her sister. When I question Rowena, she will just fold her arms and say, 'Always angry with me, never sayang me'. 'I dont like mummy anymore. Yucky mummy' and then i get a nasty pinch.

We went to Asha's place over the weekend. The girls love going there as they think Asha and baby Rekha are their cousins and love spending time with them. Plus, they get to feast on Coke, Chips, nuggets to glory. Somehow, Rowena finds competition with Asha who is only 1 plus and has pushed her many time. Yesterday, she left a really bad scratch on her face and it is so obvious. I scolded her and asked her why she scratched Asha? All she said was' I did not scratch her. I just pinch her only'. I told her she wont be welcomed at their house anymore and she says' 'Never mind, I can go my own self'. Aagh!

Am hunting for some martial arts or gymnastics class for her for her to burn all those energy and channel it towards something useful!!

Kindergarten Hunt

My kindergarten hunt is almost over as I have finally narrowed it down to 2 kindergartens in Damansara Heights. I did a complete check and visited all shortlisted schools and asked them in detail on their curriculum, methods used, whether it is more academic driven (which I dont want),focus on rote learning (which I dont want too), bridging classes for Primary 1 and of course the cleanliness of the place especially the toilets as Harvynna will never use a dirty toilet. Fees is also an important consideration as kindergartens in this vicinity is definitely a lot higher in price. It does not mean, you pay a high price, you get the best when it comes to preschool education.

Some of the schools have a lower price, but when asked in detail, I realise some of the areas are not covered and instead get the students to go for after school classes, which in the end works out to be more. Some with lower fees also look very run down. After being in Beaconhouse that is very well maintained, I dont think I want Harvynna to go to a run down place as Ms Snob will definitely have an issue with that.

One of the schools is very old. My cousins who are now in their 20s used to go there, but they are very established and have a very dedicated set of teachers. I am also impressed with their curriculum and classes. Character building is also emphasised there. Plus, the teachers at my school mentioned that kids from this kindergarten have a strong reading foundation.

The second school is handled by a new management. Its in a huge bungalow with a pool (with swimming lessons). Its a smart kindergarten and their methods are pretty similar to what we offer at my school. What attracted me is that they offer a mix of montessori with emphasis on English , Bahasa and Mandarin and have bridging classes for the 6 year olds. The best part is they have a fixed extra enrichment class programme daily till 3 which includes Speech and Drama, IT, Swimming, Keyboard.

My only problem now is transport. Transport from Bangsar to Damansara Heights is RM250 a month! So I may have to send her in the mornings and arrange for transportation back. If I really cant find proper transport, I may have to consider letting her remain in Beaconhouse. Sigh! Living in the Klang Valley with no support is really difficult. You just have to pay for everything!

So what do I do with Rowena - decided to sign her up at Kidz Sports and some music classes. She needs to do some activity that will use up her energy as she has a lot to spare! Some of the schools for 3 year olds are more of playgroups with only about 1 and a half hours of structured activities. So I have put her schooling on hold.

Happy Halloween!

The girls have been looking forward to Halloween this year. The experience Harvynna had at the party last year was great, that she insisted to attend another one this year. This year, Rowena came as well as she looked really adorable in her witch costume. As it was the same costume Harvynna wore last year (and won), I decided to bring them to the Mega Kidz party instead. The costume is really nice. It was a gift from my sister in law. Have to find a different venue next year, if Rowena were to wear it again!

Mega Kidz Halloween Bash is really packed with activities. The 3 hours went by very quickly. Thank God!! or I would have had a heart attack, handling the 2 girls on my own amidst 50 other kids. Most of the kids that came were about6-10 years old as Mega Kidz groups everyone together. Unlike Kidzspots that breaks the groups into 2. So, some of the activities were too much for the younger kids. Both Harvynna and Rowena came out crying from the Haunted House. The trick or treat session was quite fun. The girsl collected lots of sweets. Rowena took the opportunity to do her usual running round inside the stores hoping to collect more sweets.

I knew Rowena would win a prize as her costume did stand out and everywhere she went, the 'judges' stopped her to ask for her number as they were selecting the winners. I was starting to get worried as it would be a disaster if Harvynna did not win. It is really getting quite difficult now, as Rowena gets a lot of attention when we go out. strangers just stop and comment how cute she is, while Harvynna just stands there next to her. I feel so bad for Harvynna as I dont want to cause competition and sibling rivalry. I am sure she feels it.

They called out the winnners from 10th place upwards. Harvynna was happy to be the 5th place winner. She did not know about the placing - to her she had won a prize. Then Rowena was upset, as she did not get a prize and was whining away. I was confident that Rowena will win and true enough, she was the runner up for the contest. So both the girls went back happy and contented. Its difficult having 2 girls as the competition level can be really high!

Harvynna had a Halloween party in school yesterday, and wore her pumpkin princess costume again. Rowena threw a fit, 'why Harvynna wearing like that? I also want. I also want pretty. Where is my dress? and starting rolling on the floor with the biggest tantrum. I put on an old party frock for her and told her it was a princess dress! That kept her quiet.